Digital Clue
by madjack89
Summary: Hey everyone! This story is a parody of the movie Clue done with Digimon characters, so if you like either, or both, check it out! And also, don't get mad if your fav Digimon character dies in this. Someone had to die in Clue, right? *Finally complete*
1. I: It was a dark and stormy night

**Digital Clue**

**I: It was a dark and stormy night…**

_madjack89:_ Yup, that's right! I'm a Clue/Digimon fan! And since it's almost Halloween, I thought I should celebrate by writing a Clue parody with Digimon! Because it's a murder mystery! Yeah! The cast list is as follows:

Wadsworth (the butler): Kouji Minamoto

Colonel Mustard: Takuya Kanbara

Mrs. Peacock: Mimi Tachikawa

Miss Scarlet: Yoshino Fujieda

Professor Plum: JP Shibayama

Mr. Green: Henry Wong

Mrs. White: Jeri Katou

Mr. Boddy: Matt Ishida

Yvette (the maid): Zoe Orimoto

The other characters will be introduced through the rest of this story, but these guys are more prominent, so I thought I'd let you know who they're gonna be (besides, the other characters are gonna die). Oh, and if you're annoyed by the fact that there are a lot of Digimon Frontier characters in here, I'm sorry! It's my favorite season!

_Takuya:_ Heck yes!

_Matt: _Shut up and let's get this story over with.

_Kouji:_ The butler?

_JP:_ Ha ha, very funny. Make me the pervy doctor…

_Kouji:_ …The butler?

_Zoe:_ I am not wearing this skimpy maid outfit!

_Yoshino:_ And I'm not wearing this dress!

_Henry:_ Well, my role doesn't seem that bad. _checks it on Wikipedia_ Oh my god!

_Kouji:_ …The butler?

_madjack89:_ Will you guys stop complaining? I have fanfiction to write!

_Everyone:_ Fine.

_madjack89:_ Okay guys, here you go!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or Clue. I'm just writing a fan-based story which combines the two. So there!**

--

It was a dark and stormy night as a car pulled up the drive to the large, Gothic mansion. The driver parked the car in its usual spot then got out. He had on a tuxedo as if he were going to attend some kind of party.

He glanced up at the sky and frowned. _It had to rain,_ he thought, taking his groceries from the passenger side of the car.

He quickly walked around to the front door, passing a large window which showed a maid inside the lounge of the mansion, dusting the furniture in preparation for the guests.

The man made it to the front of the house, setting his groceries down and searching his pocket for his keys.

Suddenly two ferocious-looking guard dogs leaped from the bushes, attempting to grab the bag of groceries. However, the chains around their necks choked them before they could reach the food.

The man smirked. "Heh, stupid dogs."

At that moment the chains holding the two dogs back broke and they lunged forward.

The man grabbed the groceries, trying to keep them away from the dogs. "Zoe, if you would be so kind as to open the door!" he yelled frantically, trying to get the maid's attention.

The maid made her slow way to the door, dusting things as she went. The man's cries of pain could be heard from outside as the maid opened the door just enough for the man to make his way in.

He quickly slid into the mansion, bringing what was left of the groceries with him. He stood panting for a few moments, trying to catch his breath.

"Thanks for all the freakin help," he said to the maid sarcastically, straightening up and grabbing the groceries.

"Not my fault that the dogs got off their chains," she said huffily. "But of course now you'll expect me to go tie them up again. You're such a jerk Kouji, you know that?"

Kouji turned to her. "Tonight call me Wadsworth. We're going by assumed names, remember?"

"Of course I remember!" she said angrily. "But no one's here yet, so I don't really see the point!"

"Then what's your assumed name, Zoe?" Kouji asked, quizzing her.

Zoe gave him a blank look. He smirked, saying, "It's Yvette, just so you know."

Zoe frowned as he turned and made his way to the kitchen, sticking her tongue out at his back.

Kouji stepped through the kitchen door, holding up the tattered bag. "Sorry about the groceries, Sora, but the dogs got to them."

He set his bag down on the counter, staring at the cook's turned back. "So, when do you think dinner's gonna be ready?" he asked.

Suddenly Sora turned on her heel, holding a kitchen knife out in front of her, pointing at Kouji. Kouji winced, staring at the glistening blade.

"Dinner will be ready at seven thirty," she said emotionlessly, turning back to the meal she was preparing.

"Okay," Kouji said nervously, backing out of the room. "You do that," he added, closing the door with more force than necessary.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Man, she gives me the creeps," he said to himself, checking his watch. "But I guess everything's ready now. All we have to do is wait for the guests."

--

_madjack89:_ I'll end it there and give you guys something to look forward to in the next chapter!

_Takuya:_ What's to look forward to?

_madjack89:_ The appearance of you guys, aka 'the guests.'

_Takuya:_ Well, that is something to look forward to.

_madjack89:_ And Taki is conceited.

_Takuya: _What?!

_madjack89:_ Okay, see you in chapter two!


	2. II: One word: blackmail

**Digital Clue**

**II: One word: blackmail**

_madjack89:_ Hello, everyone who decided to actually read this! Time to bring in the guests!

_Kouji:_ Cooool.

_madjack89:_ Shut up, emo wolfy butler dude!

_Kouji:_ I swear to god…

_madjack89:_ Okay, since I did get two reviews for this, I'll answer them now for your amusement and pleasure!

_Takuya:_ You always answer reviews.

_madjack89:_ Yeah, I know!

_Zim'sMostLoyalServant:_ I'll be changing it up a lot with this story to make it amusing for fans of both genres, but I'll be basically sticking to the plot of Clue. Thanks!

_hazeleyedharmony:_ I love parodies too! But…um…Chief…yeah… (_Kouichi:_ You've got to be kidding me.) Um…please don't stop reading this! Pleeeeeeeeeeeease! I've got a plan! Okay well, thanks!

_madjack89:_ Okay, time for part two! Woohoo!

**Disclaimer: Still don't own either of these things.**

--

Takuya stepped up onto the porch of the large mansion, glancing again at the letter he had received. He stared at the large wooden door then at the doorbell.

He sighed. "I just know this is gonna suck," he muttered, ringing the bell.

After a few moments a man opened the door. He looked Takuya up and down and said, "You're Colonel Mustard, right?"

"Um, no. I'm Takuya," Takuya said, cocking his head. "You sent the letter, so I assumed you knew who I was."

Kouji glared at him. "Okay, first of all, I'm the butler. I don't send letters. Second, Colonel Mustard is going to be your assumed name tonight so that no one knows who you really are. Got it?"

"But I don't like mustard," Takuya said, frowning. "And everyone already knows who I am. Remember that Digimon sleepover cross-over we had? The one where you and Rika were…"

"That's it; get in the freakin' study," Kouji said quickly, interrupting Takuya. Then he grabbed Takuya by the collar of his shirt and tugged him over to the study door.

"But I still don't like mustard," Takuya muttered, pouting.

"Shut up," Kouji snapped, shoving Takuya through the open door. Zoe stood near the door, ready to offer people champagne. (_Daiki:_ But we're not allowed to drink!) Dai, get back to F2HF! (_Daiki:_ Okay…)

The doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of another guest. "Keep this idiot occupied," Kouji told Zoe quickly, rushing to answer the door.

"Roger dodger," Zoe said, mock saluting him. Then she turned to face Takuya, who was staring at her abnormally large breasts.

"Did you have those the last time I saw you?" Takuya asked.

"Takuya, stick to the plot," Zoe said. "And these aren't real. They're fanfiction produced."

"Okay, fine," Takuya said, checking his character description. "Um, we should totally shack up again without anyone taking embarrassing photos," he said, improving.

Zoe sighed. "I swear, Madjack, I swear…" she muttered to herself.

--

Meanwhile, Kouji opened the door, and then flinched. "Oh great, it's Mrs. White."

"Actually, it's Jeri," Jeri said, once again talking creepily through her puppet. "I mean, everyone knows who I am. Remember when you and Rika…"

"My god, does everyone have to bring that up!" Kouji exclaimed angrily, gesturing for Jeri to enter the mansion.

Still fuming, he said through clenched teeth, "Shall I take your coat, Mrs. White?"

"You may take Jeri's coat," said the puppet, emphasizing Jeri's name.

"Can you please put that puppet away?" Kouji asked, still trying to be polite.

"Fine," Jeri said, stuffing the puppet in her pocket. "But she phrases things much more eloquently than me."

"I'm sure she does," Kouji muttered, leading her to the study. "Okay Yvette, here's another nut-job."

"Hey there, Zoe!" Jeri greeted, waving at Zoe as she entered the study.

"Does no one besides me read the script?" Kouji asked.

"I am going by the script," Jeri said defensively. "It says I recognize Zoe, so I did."

"She got you there, Kouji," Takuya added, grinning mischievously.

"Screw all of you," Kouji said, slamming the door.

--

_~Meanwhile…_

"Oh crap," Yoshino muttered, staring at her smoking engine. "Stupid crappy car."

Suddenly a pair of headlights illuminated the night around her. She turned and saw a car driving up the road toward her. With a man behind the wheel.

Yoshino chuckled. "This'll be too easy," she said to herself, leaning against her car and flaunting her butt at the approaching car. "And now for the finishing touch," she murmured, sticking her leg up in the air.

Instantly the car stopped, backing up to where she stood. She turned and grinned smugly as the man rolled down the window to his car.

"Need a lift?" he asked, patting the seat beside him.

"Thought you'd never ask," she answered, climbing into the car.

"Where you headed?" the man continued, concentrating more on Yoshino's breasts than the road.

"Some big mansion not far up the road," she said, holding up her letter with the address on it.

"What a convenient plot twist," said the man. "I'm going there, too."

"Wow, that is a convenient plot twist," said Yoshino.

"Damn right," said the man, stopping in front of the large gate. "By the way, I'm JP. Professor JP."

"Well I'm Yoshi. Miss Yoshi," she replied, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously at JP.

JP glanced at the mansion then back at Yoshino. "We're not that late," he said, cutting the engine and leaning toward her.

"You read my mind," she said, leaning toward him as well.

--

"Hey everyone! My name's Mimi and I hope we can be friends this is really exciting do you like my hair I like my hair hey look you have goggles and…"

Zoe quickly slammed the study door in Mimi's face, ending her tirade.

"Thank you," said Takuya and Jeri.

"Guys, let her in," said Kouji from outside the door. "If she gets drunk she'll just end up passing out later anyway."

"True," said Zoe, opening the door back up.

"Well that was odd," said Mimi, stepping into the study. "The door just suddenly closed on its own!"

"Yeah, on its own," muttered Takuya, rolling his eyes and taking another sip of champagne.

--

Henry knocked on the door of the mansion, feeling nervous. And it didn't help matters that there were two vicious-looking dogs glaring at him from not far away.

Kouji opened the door, sighing in relief. "Thank god a sensible person finally came!"

"Yeah," said Henry, still glancing at the dogs. "Um, I guess I'm Mr. Green, then?"

"We're just gonna scrap that because everybody else already ruined it," Kouji said flatly. "Let me take your coat."

Kouji quickly took Henry's coat, hanging it in the closet.

Before entering the study, Henry turned to Kouji, saying, "Oh, by the way, you might want to turn the hose on whoever's parked outside your gate, because I was hearing some things and…well…you know."

Kouji sighed, grabbing a cane hanging beside the door. "I'll be right back."

--

"So Zoe, are you gonna keep those breasts, or…"

Zoe slapped Takuya upside the head. "Are you even listening to yourself!" she said angrily. "That's something I would expect from JP, not you!"

"Hi JP!" Everyone turned to the study door to see JP and Yoshino, looking slightly flushed. Mimi was waving stupidly at the both of them as they sat down, both taking cups from Zoe's tray.

"I swear, JP," mumbled Kouji to himself, setting down the cane.

JP smiled sheepishly. "A slight diversion, but none the less satisfying!"

Yoshi giggled, batting her eyelashes.

"Whatever," Kouji said. "Now we can get down to business."

"I think that these two already have," Takuya commented.

Before Kouji could reply, a loud gong was heard in the hallway, causing everyone to jump and Henry to spill his drink all over Mimi.

"Sorry," Henry said sheepishly, grabbing a napkin to wipe her off.

"You should be," Mimi grumbled, suddenly not sounding so cheerful.

Kouji glared at Sora as she made a hasty retreat into the kitchen. "That means that dinner's ready, apparently."

--

Several minutes later, everyone was seated in the dining room, waiting for dinner to be served.

"So Kouji," Takuya said, turning to face him as he stood idly next to the kitchen door. "What exactly do butlers do, anyway?"

"We butle," Kouji said sarcastically. "Now if everyone's done asking me stupid questions, I'm gonna go get dinner." With that he stepped out of the room, leaving the guests to talk.

JP glanced at the vacant seat at the head of the table. "So, what's up with the empty seat?"

"Probably for our host, whoever that is," said Yoshi, taking a drag of her cigarette.

"Since when do you smoke?" asked Jeri, staring at the puff of smoke coming from between Yoshi's parted lips.

"Since now," she said, glancing at the clock. "Hm, 7:30."

"Soup's on," Zoe called, coming in with a tray of soup in her hand and setting each bowl in front of someone.

"On the dot, as always," Kouji mumbled, coming back into the room. "Alright, you guys just get acquainted while me and Zoe take care of some things."

"Like, things or THINGS?" Yoshi asked.

Kouji blushed. "You guys are disgusting!"

"Besides, if Kouji tried anything, I would have to kill him," said JP, holding up a fork threateningly.

"C'mon, Zoe," Kouji mumbled, leaving the room again. Zoe followed quickly behind, once again leaving the guests alone.

"Well, I guess we should just dig in," said JP, taking his spoon and lifting some soup to his mouth. As soon as it entered his mouth, however, he spat it back out, coughing and gagging.

"Oh goody, they're trying to poison us," said Yoshi, rolling her eyes at JP.

"It's not that," JP choked, trying to gain back his composure. "That was just the worst thing I've ever tasted!"

Takuya and Henry eyed the soup warily. Yoshi shoved it away from her. Jeri stared at the wall across from her chair, looking bored.

And Mimi was scarfing down the soup as if she were a starving dog.

Everyone stared at her incredulously. Mimi looked up, confused by everyone's stares. "What?" she asked, pushing her empty bowl aside.

"Dude," said JP, amazed. "You actually stomached that stuff!"

Mimi smiled, saying, "Yeah! Is that a problem?"

Everyone else looked at each other and nodded. "Okay Mimi, since you're a freak, you get everyone's food!" said Takuya, mocking enthusiasm.

The others nodded vigorously, shoving their bowls in Mimi's direction. Mimi grinned happily. "Yay!"

While Mimi finished everyone's food, the other guests started a conversation.

"So why do you think we're here?" asked Henry, getting straight to the point.

"Beat's me," Yoshi said nonchalantly. She suddenly noticed that Takuya was staring at her. "You like what you see?" she asked, smirking.

Takuya blinked. "Uh, no, I just thought I recognized you for a second."

"Wouldn't be the first person you recognized here, if you know what I mean," she muttered conspiratorially.

Takuya stifled a gasp. _Crap, it is her,_ he thought. _She'll oust me for sure!_

Henry observed Takuya's reaction curiously. "Do you two know each other?"

"Duh!" Takuya and Yoshi said at the same time.

"I mean in the context of the plot," Henry said, sighing. "Now I see what Kouji's talking about."

"I recognized someone," Jeri suddenly said, speaking for the first time.

"Who?" everyone asked.

Jeri smiled. "You all work, or are connected to the government, right?"

Everyone stared at each other in shock. Jeri's smile grew when no one denied her claim.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Everyone held their breath as Kouji answered the door.

After a few moments, Kouji entered the room with Matt by his side. "Okay everybody, here's the last guest," Kouji said, pointing Matt to his seat.

"I thought he was the host," JP grumbled.

"Well, you're wrong," Matt said, taking his seat. As Zoe passed by him, he smirked, saying, "Think you could rustle up something for me to drink, Zee?"

JP flushed with anger and jealousy at Matt's use of Zoe's nickname. "Since when were you such great pals?!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, we know each other on a VERY intimate level," Matt said suggestively, lifting Zoe's skirt.

Zoe stepped away from him quickly, glaring as she left the room.

"Okay guys, time to head to the study." Immediately after Kouji announced this, a loud boom of thunder sounded from outside, stunning everyone.

"Wow, this murder mystery has everything," Takuya muttered.

--

Kouji quickly shuffled everyone back into the study, and they all took a seat. While they were situating themselves, Kouji strode over to a table, upon which was an envelope. He quickly opened the envelope and glanced at the information on the sheets off paper he pulled out.

Kouji rolled his eyes. _These guys really are screwed up._

He turned around to find that all the guests were staring at him, expecting him to explain why they were all there tonight.

"I suppose you're wondering why you're all here tonight," he began.

"Madjack already said that," Takuya said.

"Shut up!" Kouji said, tossing a random book at Takuya's head. The book hit him and he fell to the floor, looking unconscious. Everyone returned their attention to Kouji.

Kouji cleared his throat. "You are all here tonight because of one word; blackmail."

--

_madjack89:_ Shock! Their being blackmailed!

_Takuya:_ Oh, great!

_Kouji:_ Yeah, this is some pretty juicy stuff.

_Zoe:_ Heh heh heh…

_Matt:_ Why am I a pervert?

_Yoshi:_ Why am I a slut?

_Davis:_ Why am I not in this story?

_Jeri:_ Why's the sky blue?

_Kouichi:_ Madjack, I'm getting nervous. What part do I play in this?

_madjack89:_ Ah, you're bombarding me with questions again! I'll just end the chapter!

_Everyone:_ No!

_madjack89:_ Bye, everyone! Don't forget to R&R!


	3. III: I didn't do it!

**Digital Clue**

**III: I didn't do it!**

_madjack89:_ Okay, time for the next exciting installment of Digital Clue! Last time, Kouji had just revealed everyone's reason for being at the mansion: blackmail!

_Kouji:_ Like I said, juicy stuff. Especially you, Takuya.

_Takuya:_ Grrrrrr…

_Matt:_ Okay, I just finished watching the real Clue and I couldn't help but notice that YOU PUT ME IN THE ROLE OF A CHARACTER THAT DIES!

_madjack89:_ Deal with it, Matt! At least I put Sora in this with you!

_Matt:_ She dies too!

_Sora:_ I what?

_madjack89:_ Alright, I think this would be a good time to answer reviews!

_agoodcupoftea:_ You should check Clue out! It's such a funny movie! I highly recommend it! Thanks for reviewing!

_hazeleyedharmony:_ Yeah, I'm sure Kouichi will forgive me. He's too nice not to! (_Kouichi:_ It's not nice to take advantage of people…) I'm still trying to keep them in character even though it's not their character (does that make sense?). And yes, Jeri scares me, too! Her and that creepy puppet…but I'll live. Thanks for the review!

_fg1fg:_ Yup, they did it! lol No, just kidding. They aren't that crazy! And the reason it's all perverted is because that's how Clue was like, too (it had a lot of pervy doctor jokes). And I'm making fun of JP! But I don't think all guys are perverts, and I'm sure your not! Alright, thanks for reviewing!

_madjack89:_ Okay, time for Digital Clue: part III!

--

"Ow," Takuya grumbled, rubbing his head. "What'd I miss?" he asked, noticing everyone's shocked expressions.

"Apparently we're all being blackmailed," said Yoshi, smirking. "And I can only imagine what you've done, DOCTOR," she added, glancing coyly at JP.

JP frowned. "Why are you singling me out, MISS Yoshi?"

"I am NOT being blackmailed!" Mimi exclaimed.

"You know what?" Matt said, suddenly standing. "I've had about enough of this; I'm out of here!"

Everyone watched as Matt strode from the room, headed for the door. Kouji quickly followed him, saying, "Actually, I've locked all of you in here, so no can do."

"What?" everyone exclaimed angrily.

"You can't do that!" Takuya said. "I know my rights!"

"Takuya, the only right you have is the right to shut up and get back in the study," Kouji replied, shuffling everyone back into the room. He closed the door behind him and stared at everyone in turn.

"So, anyone want to fess up to what they did?" he asked.

"I can't, because I haven't done anything," Mimi grumbled, taking a swig of champagne.

"Oh really," Kouji said, pulling a paper out of his envelope. "Well, according to this, you've been, let's just say, BRIBING SENATORS to get your own senator husband in higher places."

"Nice," Takuya muttered.

"That is completely ridiculous!" Mimi exclaimed angrily. "I am a law abiding citizen of the United States!"

"Actually, I think bribing isn't exactly following the law," JP said, smirking.

Mimi's face grew red as she glared at Kouji. "You…"

"Yeah, you probably hate me now. Moving on." Kouji plucked another piece of paper from the envelope and turned to Takuya. "All I can say is Takuya…wow."

"Give me that paper!" Takuya cried, leaping at Kouji. Kouji quickly stepped out of the way, causing Takuya to land on the floor.

"Let me see that," Yoshi demanded, grabbing the paper from Kouji while he snickered at Takuya. She scanned the paper for a moment, then grinned. "I thought I recognized you from something."

"Wait; don't!" Takuya once again tried to grab the paper, but Yoshi quickly crumpled it in her hand and threw it at JP.

JP caught it and smoothed it out, reading the contents. Everyone else, minus Matt, gathered around to read as well. Takuya hung his head in dismay as the other guests stared at him in shock.

"You got it on in a bordello?" Henry asked.

"Ew," Jeri said, making a face.

"Oh, like you've never done anything reprehensible!" Takuya retorted, blushing profusely.

"Wait, what's a bordello?" Mimi asked curiously.

"It's a special hotel that places men in a room with the company of a young lady…for a short while," Yoshi explained, waggling her eyebrows.

"You say that like you know what you're talking about," JP said, staring at Yoshi.

"I do," she replied. "I own one."

"Holy crap," Henry mumbled, gulping down more champagne.

"Yeah, this joker was a 'customer' of mine once," Yoshi said, pointing at a miserable-looking Takuya. "So doctor, what could you're secret possibly be?"

"You know what doctors aren't supposed to do with their lady patients?" Kouji asked.

"Yeah," Yoshi replied.

"Well, he did," Kouji stated, glancing at another piece of paper.

"Ha ha, I knew it!" Yoshi cackled, laughing hysterically.

JP scratched his head sheepishly. "Well…yeah."

"What is wrong with people?" Jeri muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, first off, you talk to a freaking puppet, Jeri!" Kouji exclaimed, grabbing another paper. "Not only that, but your husbands have a nasty habit of dying, don't they?"

"Dude, you locked us in here with a murderer?!" Takuya cried.

"You think this is bad, just wait," Kouji said, foreshadowing the fact that this is a MURDER mystery.

"Oh, shut up, Madjack!" Takuya snapped, while I grinned (hee).

"Just because my first three husbands died mysteriously doesn't mean that I killed them," Jeri said, glaring at Kouji. "Besides, I loved Takato very much."

"Dude, you killed Takato!" Takuya exclaimed.

"You bitch!" Henry added.

"Fine, but what happened to Kazu and Kenta?" Kouji asked accusingly. Jeri paused, dumbfounded.

"Dude, you killed Kazu and Kenta!" Takuya exclaimed.

"Dude, you MARRIED Kazu and Kenta!" Yoshi exclaimed.

"Okay, cut it out with the dudes," Kouji said, clearing his throat. "Now that I've unmasked crazy over here, that leaves Henry."

Everyone suddenly grinned, turning to stare at Henry. Henry sighed, standing up. "Do I really have to say this?"

"Sorry buddy, it's in the script," Takuya said, grinning wider.

"The fangirls are gonna have a field day with this," Henry muttered, clenching his fists. "Okay. I'm not going to wait for Kouji to unmask me. I work for the State Department, and I am a…homosexual."

Everyone in the room burst into laughter. Henry blushed, hiding his face in his hands.

_three minutes later…_

"It wasn't that funny, guys!" Henry exclaimed as everyone continued to laugh.

"Hey, at least Takato, Kazu, and Kenta are out of the picture!" Takuya said between chuckles. "Now you can get it on with Ryo!"

This sent everyone into another giggle fit. Henry's eyes narrowed. "You guys suck."

_three more minutes later…_

"Okay guys, back to business," Kouji gasped, regaining his composure. He waited a moment as everyone stopped laughing, getting serious once more. "Alright," Kouji continued, "now we know why all of you are being blackmailed."

"Wait a minute," JP said, pointing suddenly at Matt. "What about him?"

Matt smirked, standing slowly. Kouji narrowed his eyes, saying, "He isn't being blackmailed. He IS the blackmailer."

Everyone turned suddenly and glared at Matt. "You were…you…you were," Takuya stammered incoherently.

"Yup," Matt said bluntly. "I blackmailed all of you. I am officially more of an ass than Kouji here."

"Congratulations," Kouji said sarcastically.

"Why are you here, then? What's going one?" Henry asked, glancing suspiciously at Kouji. "And what does Kouji have to do with it?"

"Hey, don't point fingers at me just yet," Kouji retaliated. "I'm not blackmailing you, after all."

"Yeah!" Takuya said, glaring at Matt. "What the hell do you think you're doing, blackmailing us?"

"Um, if I blackmail you, I get money," Matt said, smiling. "It's not that hard to figure out."

While Takuya and Matt bickered, Jeri got up slowly and walked over to Matt. Everyone stared at her, seeing what she would do next. Suddenly Jeri lifted her knee and hit Matt in the…uh…"private area."

Matt sank to his knees, trembling with pain. "That's for blackmailing me, you bastard," Jeri muttered, smirking.

The guys in the room stared at Jeri with horror, while Yoshi and Mimi started snickering. "You go, girl!" Mimi exclaimed.

"I'd say I felt bad for you, but I don't," JP said, staring at Matt as he slowly got to his feet.

"Hey guys, I don't mean to ruin this happy little moment, but the police are coming," Kouji said flatly.

"What?!" everyone exclaimed, crowding around Kouji.

"If the police come, everyone will know all this crap about us!" Takuya said.

"I worked too hard to hide those bribes to let it go to waste!" Mimi cried, realizing too late that she was admitting to what she'd done. "Wait, I mean…damn it!"

"I'm not going back to prison!" Jeri growled threateningly.

"Guys!" Kouji yelled, silencing the group. "If you just tell the police what you've done, then you can put Matt behind bars and your troubles will be over!"

Matt chuckled suddenly, causing everyone to turn and look at him. "I think I have a much more enticing offer for them, if you'll let me get my bag from the hall."

Without waiting for an answer, Matt walked down the hall, grabbed his bag, and walked back into the study. Everyone continued to stare as Matt took six identically wrapped presents out of his bag.

"Darn, it's not my birthday," Takuya said sarcastically.

"These aren't for anyone's birthday," Matt replied, handing a present to everyone but Kouji. Everyone stared at their gifts quizzically until Matt said, "Go ahead and open them."

"Whatever." Yoshi shrugged, flipping off the top of her gift and taking out a brass candlestick. She stared at it suspiciously. "Um, thank you, but I prefer chocolates."

Jeri took a noose from her gift box, staring at it silently.

From Henry's box came a lead pipe. "Uh, okay?" he muttered.

Takuya grabbed from inside his gift a wrench. "What the hell?" he said, glancing at Matt. "You want me to solve my problems by fixing things?"

"I'll explain in a second," Matt replied, watching as JP removed a revolver from his gift and Mimi removed a dagger from hers.

Kouji looked at each present in turn, then glared at Matt. "So what now?"

Matt smirked at Kouji, and then turned to face the others. "Each of you holds in your hands a deadly weapon."

"Wait, I have a question!" Takuya interrupted, raising his hand.

"Yes, Takuya," Matt said, rolling his eyes.

"How exactly is a wrench a deadly weapon?" Takuya asked.

"When you hit someone in the head with it, they die," Matt answered. "Happy?"

"I'll never trust a plumber again, but continue," Takuya replied.

"Okay, anyway, you each have a deadly weapon. In a moment, I will turn off the lights," Matt explained, moving in front of the study door and resting his hand on the light switch. "While they're off, I say that we do the unthinkable: kill Kouji Minamoto!"

Everyone gasped and, from far away, a fangirl could be heard crying out in despair. "Madjack," Kouji muttered. (hee)

"That's crazy, Matt! What'll season four do without Kouji?" JP said. "We all know the twins give us half our popularity!"

"If Kouji exposes you, you're ruined anyway," Matt said. "Besides, he's been a jerk to you guys all night. You can get your payback and get rid of the evidence against you at the same time."

"True," JP murmured, considering the possibilities in his head.

"Can I trade JP for the gun?" Jeri asked. "I'm not sure I could pull this off with a noose, but a revolver should do the trick."

Kouji suddenly grew paler, taking a few steps back from the guests. "Now, hang on, guys, can't we discuss this? I haven't been that big a jerk, have I?"

Everyone pondered this for a moment, then said, "Yeah, you have."

"Don't worry Kouji, I'm not killing anyone," Henry said, dropping his pipe on the ground.

"That makes me feel so much better," Kouji said sarcastically, looking warily at all the guests. "Matt, before you turn off the lights, could you let me write my last will and testament?"

"No," Matt replied, flicking off the lights.

For a moment, no sound could be heard in the room. Then there was the sound of shuffling, followed by a gun shot and a thump. Mimi screamed and quickly turned the lights back on, wondering who had had the nerve to actually commit the murder.

But instead of Kouji, Matt's motionless body lay on the study floor.

There was silence for a moment. Then Kouji let out a sigh of relief, saying, "Takuya, JP, I take back everything I was going to do to you guys when I came back from the dead and haunted you."

"Oh crap," Yoshi muttered, staring at Matt's motionless form. "Well, Mr. Doctor, go check him out and see if he's really dead."

JP approached Matt and pressed his fingers to Matt's pressure points. "He's dead."

"Um, when exactly were those policemen coming?" Henry asked Kouji.

"In about an hour," Kouji replied, staring at the body. "And I don't think anyone's going to confess to this."

"Wait, didn't the revolver go off?" Jeri asked suddenly. Everyone turned their gazes on JP.

"I didn't do this! Someone grabbed the gun from me in the dark!" JP protested. "Look, Matt doesn't have a bullet wound!"

"He's right!" Yoshi exclaimed. "That vase over there is broken and there's a bullet hole in the wall!"

The others rushed to the spot Yoshi was pointing at and realized she was right.

"Oh my god, I think I need a drink," Mimi said wearily, picking up Matt's glass from the table by the door and taking a swig.

Suddenly JP turned and exclaimed, "What if Matt was poisoned?"

Mimi instantly dropped the glass on the ground and started screaming. "I'm gonna die!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" Takuya yelled, forcing Mimi to sit down in a chair as she continued her screaming.

Henry stepped up to Mimi and slapped her across the face to shut her up. She fell silent and Henry muttered sheepishly, "I had to stop you from screaming."

"Okay, so how do we find out if the drink was poisoned?" Yoshi asked.

Kouji glanced at Mimi and said, "Well there's one obvious way. If she dies too…"

"Oh god," Mimi muttered in despair as everyone crowded around her to see if she would die.

Suddenly everyone heard a high pitched scream coming from the other room. The others, minus Mimi, quickly rushed into the hall and ran to the door of the billiard room.

While Kouji fumbled with the key, the screaming continued from inside the room. "Wait a minute, what if the murderer has another victim in there?" Jeri asked out loud.

"Oh crap, Zoe!" JP realized. "Open the freaking door, Kouji!"

"Working on it," Kouji muttered, giving the key one last twist before slamming the door open.

Almost immediately after this, Zoe ran up to Kouji and slapped him upside the head. "What'd I do?" Kouji cried angrily while Zoe continued to glare at him.

"You locked me in here with a murderer, you jackass!" Zoe replied angrily, slapping Kouji again.

"Heh, she bitch slapped you twice," Takuya said, chuckling at Kouji.

"Wait, how'd you know about the murder?" Yoshi asked suspiciously. "You weren't in there with us."

"Kouji wanted me to tape your conversation," Zoe explained, pointing at the tape recorder behind her. "And I sure as hell am not staying in this room with a murderer on the loose, even if it's one of you guys."

"It wasn't necessarily one of us," JP said, defending himself. "I mean, it could even have been you, or the cook…"

"The cook!" Everyone quickly rushed down the hall, headed for the kitchen. When they wrenched open the door, they found the kitchen empty.

Henry cautiously walked into the room, inspecting everything until he stopped in front of the meat cooler. He turned to the others and said, "Well, she's not here."

Suddenly, the cooler door creaked open and Yoshi screamed, pointing at the thing falling from inside it. Sora's body slumped down onto Henry, a dagger sticking out of her back.

Henry's eyes widened as he stared at Sora's glazed eyes. "I didn't do it!" he exclaimed.

--

_madjack89:_ Oh no, two murders! And the police will be there soon! What will the guests do? How will they solve the mystery? Who will die next?

_Kouji:_ Why did no one object to killing me? I'm not that bad!

_madjack89:_ Sorry Kouji! Alright, see you all in the next exciting chapter of Digital Clue!

(Sorry this took so long to get out! I'll try to be faster in the future, but no promises!)


	4. IV: Look what happened to the cook!

**Digital Clue**

**IV: Look what happened to the cook!**

_madjack89:_ Okay, it's FINALLY time for the next part of Digital Clue!

_Kouji:_ Who would be excited about that?

_madjack89:_ People that aren't gonna die!

_Kouji:_ …Uh-huh.

_JP:_ So who's dying next?

_madjack89:_ We'll find out when I get there. Now on to some reviews!

_Dawn of Glory:_ I warned you, didn't I?! (lol) Yeah, sorry bout that, but I'm glad you like it anyway! Thanks for reviewing!

_fg1fg:_ Aw, maybe Dai would, but not Tommy (lol)! Anyway, who shall we kill next, accomplice? My personal vote is Kouji. (_Kouji:_ What?!) I'm just kidding! Or am I…? Anyway, glad you're liking the story and I'm not quite sure if I want to put myself in this crazy murder house, even with my powers (I'm scared lol). Thanks for the review!

_hazeleyedharmony:_ I know what you mean! Once I played the board game and watched the movie at the same time, but that's another story full of hyper sugarness (lol)! Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

_JewelledTears: _I know, Henry is adorable! That's why he's my favorite in Tamers! But so far, actual Digimon probably aren't playing a part in this story (that may change, though, because my brain works in weird ways). And don't collect the Duskmons, I'll go ahead and tell you Kouichi isn't the murderer, okay? He's too nice for that! Okay, thanks for the review! (And Jeri is creepy!)

_agoodcupoftea:_ Glad you like it! Thanks for the review!

_madjack89:_ Okay, time for the next pulse-pounding chapter! When we last left the Digidestined, they had just discovered Sora's dead body in the kitchen. What could this mean? Who would want to kill the cook? Read and find out!

--

"Could someone help me with this?" Henry asked, straining with the weight of Sora's corpse. The others quickly rushed over and helped Henry lay the body gently on the floor.

"According to my professional training, I can say without doubt that the cook was stabbed, with the dagger, in this kitchen," JP said, gesturing to the dagger sticking out of Sora's back.

"Ha ha, a Clue reference. Very funny," Kouji said dryly, rolling his eyes. "But we still don't know who's committing all these murders."

"Well, the food was pretty bad," Yoshi muttered, smirking.

"How can you be making jokes at a time like this?" Takuya asked, glaring at Yoshi with disgust.

"Someone has to lighten the mood around here, and if it has to be me, then fine," Yoshi replied.

"You know," Takuya growled, "if I was the killer, I would kill you next."

Jeri and Henry suddenly got up from their crouched positions by Sora's body and stared at Takuya suspiciously. Yoshi put her hands on her hips and stared at him as well, smiling triumphantly.

Takuya looked around nervously for a moment, then said, "Now c'mon, guys, I said if! And besides, if anyone here is crazy enough to commit two murders, it's Jeri!"

Everyone turned their attention to Jeri. "He's got a point," Kouji muttered, remembering Jeri's other crimes.

"I am innocent until proven guilty," Jeri said firmly, reaching into her pocket and retrieving her puppet.

"Yeah, innocent until proven guilty," the puppet agreed.

"Seriously, is anyone against me ripping that puppet up with my bare hands?" JP asked.

"Save it," Kouji said, walking up to the body. "Right now we should take this body to the study."

"Why?" Yoshi asked.

"Because there's already one body in there," he replied. "Might as well put all the bodies in the same place."

"Okay guys, I'm feeling better now HOLY CRAP!" Mimi came into the kitchen, beheld Sora's body, and abruptly fainted.

"She is so gonna die," Zoe said sarcastically.

--

After reviving Mimi, the guests took hold of Sora's body and made their way to the study. When they stopped at the open door, everyone gasped. Matt's body, which had been in the room moments before, had vanished.

"Oh my god," Zoe said softly, stepping into the room. The others slowly began to join her, searching for any sign of the body. When they found none, they gathered into the middle of the room to discuss things.

"Okay, there was one person over here while we were in the kitchen, and that was Mimi," Yoshi said, pointing accusing at Mimi.

"I didn't do anything!" Mimi cried. "Why would I want to move a dead body, anyway?"

"She's got a point," Takuya said, pondering.

"Then the only other possibility is that Matt wasn't actually dead," Henry said, glancing at JP.

"I thought he was dead," JP said defensively. "But I guess it doesn't make much of a difference now."

"Makes a difference to him," Yoshi muttered, lighting up a cigarette.

"I think I need to go powder my nose," Mimi said, stumbling over Sora's body and heading to the bathroom.

"Okay, let me get this straight; we have one body for sure, one body that has mysteriously disappeared, six murder weapons strewn about, and the police are coming, plus we're all stuck in here with a murderer," Jeri said, stating the facts.

"We're screwed," JP said.

Suddenly everyone heard screaming coming from the hall. The guests rushed out of the study and saw Mimi seemingly being attacked by Matt.

"Quick; grab him!" Kouji yelled, charging forward and grabbing Matt before he could harm Mimi. The others gathered around as Kouji let Matt fall with a thump onto the floor.

They stared at his sightless eyes and noticed blood seeping from a wound on his head before JP said, "Okay, if he wasn't dead before, he's definitely dead now."

"Who the hell would want to kill someone twice?" Yoshi asked skeptically, pointing at the new injuries.

"A psycho?" JP said, shrugging.

"Which brings us back to Jeri," Takuya said, staring again at Jeri.

"She was with us the whole time," Henry replied. "There's no way she could have done this without us knowing."

"You're suddenly defending her?" Takuya asked suspiciously.

"We're from the same season," Henry stated. "As they say, _birds of a feather stick together_."

"That worked out well for Sora and Matt," Zoe said sarcastically.

"Looks like Mimi IS next with that logic," JP said, glancing at Mimi. "Sorry Mimi. What flowers do you want at your funeral?"

Mimi suddenly paled, looking as if she were going to faint again. Kouji walked over to Mimi, saying, "Okay Mimi, just fall into my arms, okay?"

As Kouji positioned himself behind Mimi, she slumped over, falling through his outstretched arms instead of into them. Kouji glanced at Mimi lying on the ground and said, "Oops."

"What a man, Kouji," JP said sarcastically.

"Oh, like you're any better," Kouji retorted angrily.

"What happened to the season unity thing?" Zoe asked.

"It never existed with our season, Zoe," Kouji replied, getting angrier and angrier. "And more to the point, we've got a freaking psycho running around and killing people, and any of us could be next!"

"I think Kouji needs to stop shouting," Jeri said calmly, watching Kouji pace over in front of the bathroom door.

"I'm not shouting!" Kouji snapped. He paused and then said, "All right, I am! I'm shouting, I'm shouting, I'm shout—" Kouji was suddenly interrupted by the candlestick, which had been sitting on the frame of the bathroom door, falling and hitting him on the head, causing him to pass out.

"I'm beginning to like this story," Takuya said, grinning.

--

After moving both the bodies into the study, the guests sat in the available chairs to further analyze the situation.

"So, anyone else thinking this party is really starting to suck?" Yoshi asked sarcastically.

"Believe it," JP said, winking. Everyone else groaned at his reference.

"You know, I just realized something," Takuya said suddenly, glancing at Kouji.

"What?" Kouji asked curtly, annoyed from the headache he had received from the candlestick.

"You orchestrated this whole party, didn't you?" Takuya asked inquiringly. "You wanted to get us to confess our secrets, but why?"

Kouji sighed, leaning against a wall in his cool little way (hee). "You want the long version or the short version?"

"Short," everyone said in unison, not wanting to go through a giant flashback sequence.

"Alright," Kouji said, beginning his explanation. "Matt found out that my wife had socialist friends and started blackmailing us. We didn't have enough money for him, so we started working for him. Eventually, my wife couldn't take it anymore and killed herself. So, to get revenge on Matt, I got all of you together to confess your crimes and put Matt behind bars. There, that's why. Happy?"

"Wait a second; if Zoe's here, who was your wife?" Yoshi asked skeptically.

"Use your imagination," Kouji said. "Okay, now that that's taken care of, I think we should lock these deadly murder weapons up so there won't be anymore killings."

"There's plenty of other ways to kill someone in a house like this if you really wanted to," JP said, frowning.

"Well now, we can lessen everyone's chances of dying," Kouji retorted, grabbing the six weapons and locking them in a cupboard.

Just as he was about to put the key in his pocket, Mimi exclaimed, "Hey, why do you get to keep the key to the cupboard?"

"If I have this key, I know I'm safe…from Jeri," Kouji stated, adding the last part under his breath.

"But what if you're the murderer?" Takuya asked accusingly.

"What reason would I have for killing any of you?" Kouji asked.

"We contemplated killing you!" JP said.

Kouji paused, then said, "Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me, JP! You've got a point there!"

"Just throw the key outside!" Henry cried, quieting the others. "That way none of us can get to the weapons!"

"Good idea!" Mimi agreed enthusiastically. "Kouji, go throw out that key!"

"If it makes you guys happy…" Kouji muttered, heading out to the front door with the rest of the guests. He lifted the key above his head and unlocked the door with his other key. He was about to throw the key out the open door when he noticed someone standing on the front steps, looking soaked.

The person flinched, noticing Kouji's raised arm. "Um, don't hit me?" the person said, confused.

"Kouichi?" Kouji said, recognizing the person as his brother. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Madjack," Kouichi said, sighing. "She wanted to give me a part in this story, but for some reason she keeps snickering about it."

Kouji, Takuya, Zoe, and JP's eyes narrowed suddenly as they glared at me suspiciously. "You wouldn't," JP said. (Don't be mad at me!)

"Anyway," Kouichi continued, "it's raining out, and I was wondering if I could use your phone. My car broke down, and I'm really wet…"

The others glanced at each other for a moment. "Group huddle!" Takuya exclaimed as everyone huddled together to deliberate.

Kouichi stared at them curiously as they talked amongst themselves. "Um, is something going on in there?" he asked, gesturing at the house. "Did I interrupt a party or something?"

"It's one hell of a party," Yoshi said sarcastically.

"Yes, you can use a phone," Kouji said quickly, glancing warningly at Yoshi. "You can use the one in the stud—I mean, the one in the lounge," he continued, correcting himself.

"Alright then," Kouichi said warily, stepping into the house. As soon as he was inside, Yoshi and JP ran to the study door and quickly closed it, smiling cheerily at Kouichi.

"Are you guys on something or what?" Kouichi asked, glancing at the others' almost creepy smiles. "You're beginning to freak me out."

"Oh, you know, we're just on that crazy party high," JP said, chuckling nervously.

"Sure," Kouichi muttered, still looking a bit suspicious.

"C'mon," Kouji said quickly, grabbing Kouichi's arm and pulling him to the lounge door. "Okay," he says, pushing Kouichi firmly into the room. "You just make your call; stay right in here and whatever you do, do not leave this room, understand?"

"Um…yes?" Kouichi replied, looking extremely confused now. "Kouji, what is going on?"

"I'll tell you later," Kouji said, shutting Kouichi into the lounge. Then he took the key to the door from his pocket and locked the lounge door.

Kouichi noticed the key turn in the lock and his eyes widened. "What did you get me into, Madjack?" he asked, staring at me accusingly. (Deal with it, Kimura!)

Back in the hallway, Kouji turned and glared at the other guests. "I swear if anyone even attempts to do something to him, I'm gonna…"

"Hey, don't look at us!" Takuya exclaimed, gesturing at JP and Zoe. "We're just as worried as you about him."

"Sure you are," Kouji muttered, still not convinced. "But I'm still more suspicious about Jeri."

"Then hurry up and throw that key out!" Mimi cried.

Kouji walked back over to the open door, took out his key, and threw it out into the yard, where it was lost in the tangle of wet grass. Then Kouji closed and locked the door and everyone headed back to the study to assess the situation.

"Great, now we have your freaking brother to worry about," Yoshi grumbled, glaring at Kouji. "You just had to let him in!"

"He would have been more suspicious if we had left him in the rain," Zoe pointed out, crossing her arms defiantly.

"So what do we do now?" Henry asked, glancing anxiously at the two bodies lying on the floor.

"Kouji, are you sure that there is absolutely no one else in this house?" Takuya suddenly asked, staring at Kouji.

"Yes," Kouji replied.

"Yes there is, or yes there isn't?" Takuya asked, needing clarification.

"Takuya, I meant yes as in no," Kouji said, annoyed.

"Yes as in no? What the hell does that mean?" Takuya asked.

"It means yes as in no there isn't," Kouji retorted.

"No there isn't what?" Takuya asked.

"Wait, what? Did you just turn your question back around?" Kouji asked, confused and annoyed now.

"Look, I just want a straight answer!" Takuya exclaimed angrily.

"Alright..." Kouji agreed. "…What was the question?"

"Oh my god, just tell him that there's no one else in the house, for god's sake!" Jeri suddenly cried, chucking her champagne glass into the fireplace.

"Um…yeah, there's no one else in the house," Kouji said absently, staring warily at Jeri.

"You say that, but do you know that?" Takuya asked suspiciously. "Guys, I have a plan."

"Who made you leader?" Yoshi asked sarcastically.

"My goggles and the fact that I'm the only OFFICIAL Digimon season leader here at the moment," Takuya said smugly, flashing his goggles at Yoshi. "Anyway," he continued, "I say that we search the entire house in pairs, just to make sure there isn't anyone else here."

"Wait, pairs?" JP said, glancing at Takuya. "What if you got paired up with the murderer?"

"Well, then we'd know for sure who the murderer is," Takuya retorted.

"But then the other half of the pair would be dead!" Mimi exclaimed.

"This is war, Mimi!" Takuya replied sternly. "You can't make a cake without breaking a few eggs. Every great cook will tell you that!"

"But look what happened to the cook!" Mimi cried, pointing out Sora's body on the floor.

"How about this?" Kouji began, cutting off Takuya's next comment. "We'll draw straws to pick pairs. Then, if someone dies, it would have been fair."

"Not to the person that died," Mimi replied huffily.

"Well, there are some straws we could use in the kitchen. Does everyone agree to Takuya's pairs idea?" Zoe asked. When no one spoke up, Zoe said, "Alright, let's go draw some straws."

--

_madjack89:_ Could there be someone else in the house committing these murders? And what shall happen to Kouichi?

_Kouji:_ I swear to god, Madjack…

_madjack89:_ Oh, calm your little self down, Kouji. At least I'm not killing him off in F2R (probably).

_JP:_ Then what was the probably for?

_madjack89:_ Um…so, stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of Digital Clue (maybe it won't take as long to update next time)!

_Kouichi:_ Wait, killing me off? What is going on?!


	5. V: I could've been killed!

**Digital Clue**

**V: I could've been killed!**

_madjack89:_ Hey there guys! Ready to draw some straws and hope you don't get paired with a murderer?

_Kouji:_ If I get paired up with Jeri, then I want Takuya to stay the hell away from my CD collection when I'm dead.

_Takuya:_ But you said I could have them!

_Kouji:_ I said you could have my DVDs. I promised my CDs to JP.

_JP:_ Heck yeah!

_Takuya:_ But…

_Jeri:_ Hey, wait a second! Why do you guys assume that whoever gets paired up with me is instantly going to die?

_Kouji:_ Because you murdered Sora and Matt.

_Yoshi:_ And you're the tiniest bit creepy.

_Jeri:_ I didn't kill them and I'm not creepy! Why does everyone think that?

_Zoe:_ Could it be the puppet?

_Jeri:_ Oh, that's all you can come up with?

_Henry:_ Jeri, I'm sorry, but this has to be said. Yes, you are creepy. There, I said it.

_Jeri:_ I thought you were on my side… _tears up_

_Henry:_ Wait, don't cry! I didn't mean…Jeri, come on!

_JP:_ Oh yeah, Henry's the man.

_Takuya:_ The gay man.

_Yoshi:_ The gaymon.

_Henry:_ Shut up!

_Jeri:_ Now you're telling me to shut up?! _cries harder_

_Henry:_ No, I didn't mean you!

_madjack89:_ Guys, please calm her down while I answer reviews.

-

_hazeleyedharmony:_ Aw, sorry about no hyper sugarness. Man, doesn't anybody like Jeri? Let me answer that; NO! Especially since she killed off Takato(mon). Yeah, in Kouji's mind, it's guilty, no innocence involved! Yup, Kouichi and Zoe definitely had some unity going on (hee)! Alright, thanks for reviewing! (There's nowhere to run, dear little Chief…)

_agoodcupoftea:_ Thank you!

_fg1fg:_ _snicker snicker…_ Hm, I should get Zoe in there, shouldn't I? Give Kouichi a little fun time before…so anyway, how'd you get spare keys to a creepy mansion on a hill in the middle of nowhere? Oh well, I won't question your methods! Thanks for reviewing!

_Dawn of Glory:_ Man, no one wants Kouichi to die, do they? Maybe he'll be protected by the power of his fans…anyway, thanks for the review!

_gothic-k210:_ Wow, that's a new guess! Though I suppose Zoe could be the killer. We'll just have to see! Thanks for reviewing!

-

_Jeri:_ I'm never speaking to you ever again, Henry! _storms off_

_Henry:_ …Why does this kind of thing happen to me?

_Kouji:_ Actually, I think you just got some good luck. Jeri said she'd never speak to you again.

_Henry:_ Good point, but…

_Kouichi:_ Madjack, please just tell me what the heck you've gotten me into.

_madjack89: sigh_ I don't have time to deal with your collective issues, I've got a story to write! Let's go!

—

"Alright, pick a straw," Kouji said, holding up eight straws in his fist and disguising their different lengths. "And the two with the shortest straws can search the cellar and so on up."

Everyone nodded at Kouji's suggestion, and then each person reached out and took a straw from Kouji. After several moments, everyone had found their corresponding partners.

"Oh god, me and the goggle head?" Yoshi moaned, glaring at Takuya. "I don't even have experience dealing with goggle heads! Marcus was just a street fighter that liked to punch people!"

"Yeah, that's a lot easier to deal with," Takuya muttered, rolling his eyes.

"That's no fair! Why does the gay guy get paired up with Zoe?!" JP exclaimed, outraged by getting partnered with Mimi.

"JP, you do know that I'm not actually gay, right?" Henry asked, staring at JP.

JP's eyes widened. "You're not?"

Henry's jaw dropped. "You thought I was gay?!"

"Well, maybe…" JP muttered, feeling sheepish.

"Guys, just drop it!" Zoe said, stepping in to break up the fight. "I'm not single anyway, so what does it matter?"

"I guess that's kind of true," JP agreed.

"Wait," Takuya said suddenly. "If all the rest of us are paired up, that means that Kouji's with…"

Everyone turned to see Jeri and Kouji holding up two straws of the same length. Kouji looked pale while Jeri looked disappointed. "Oh, come on! Why did I have to get the rude guy?" Jeri said angrily, cursing her bad luck.

Kouji just turned to Takuya and said, "Remember what I said about those CDs."

—

A minute later, everyone gathered in the hallway with their partners, ready to embark.

"Alright, I think he's calm now," Zoe whispered, closing the door to the lounge. Kouji quickly locked the door behind her.

"I bet I know why," Yoshi remarked, smirking at Zoe.

Zoe glared at her, blushing. "You would know," she murmured.

"Alright," Takuya said, getting everyone's attention. "Now that Kouichi's not as suspicious, let's split up and get the evidence we need to convict Jeri of murder."

"Hey!" Jeri exclaimed, insulted.

Kouji just remained quiet, standing next to Jeri and looking like he was about to cry.

"Dude, is Kouji gonna cry?" JP asked.

"Jeez, all we know and love is being turned upside down," Zoe commented.

"Okay, let's get going already," Yoshi said, stomping sulkily over to the billiard room. "C'mon, Captain Clueless."

"Great plan, Takuya," Takuya muttered to himself, following Yoshi.

The others headed to their designated areas. Mimi and JP went down the steps to the basement, while Henry, Zoe, Kouji, and Jeri went upstairs to search the second floor and attic.

—

"Well, here's the attic," Henry stated, finding the correct stairwell.

"I see that," Zoe said, flipping the light switch. The stairwell was then illuminated, but not what lay beyond it.

For a moment, all Henry and Zoe did was stand at the bottom of the steps and stare at the dark abyss of the attic.

Henry finally said, "So, are you going up there?"

"I think I'd prefer it if you went up first," Zoe replied. "You know, just to make sure it's safe."

"Alright then," Henry agreed. However, he didn't move a muscle or make any attempt to climb the stairs.

—

"Well, here's the basement," JP stated, finding the correct stairwell. (Wow, déjà vu.)

"I see that," Mimi said. (Okay, stop it.) "Sorry." (You should be.)

"Oh crap," JP suddenly moaned, taking a closer look at the basement steps. "It looks like the light switch is at the bottom of the stairs. We have to go all the way down these steps in the dark."

Mimi looked down the steps and realized JP was right. "Oh no."

After a brief silence, JP quoted himself by saying, "Well, you know what they say. Ladies first, so after you!"

Mimi took another look at the dark, foreboding stairwell and shook her head rapidly.

"Aw, c'mon, what're you afraid of? A fate worse than death?" JP asked sarcastically.

"No, just death. Isn't that enough?" Mimi replied.

"You got me there," JP muttered.

—

"Kouji, will you put that down already?" Jeri asked, turning to Kouji.

"Hell no," Kouji replied, clutching the vase tighter. "When you decide to come at me, this'll be my only defense unless you have a gun, in which case we're all screwed anyway."

Jeri sighed, exasperated by Kouji paranoia. "Kouji, if I wanted to kill you, which I don't, I'd do it in a much more subtle way, like strangle you. And I'd do it in the dark, so you wouldn't see me coming. It's not dark in this hallway, so that eliminates my plan."

Kouji stared at Jeri for a moment before saying, "You have a really sick mind, you know that?"

Jeri was about to give an angry retort when she noticed two doors along the hall that led into two seemingly empty bedrooms. Jeri stood in front of one while Kouji stood in front of the other.

"Are you going in there?" Kouji asked nervously, pointing at the door Jeri stood in front of.

"Yeah," Jeri replied. "Same with you?"

Kouji nodded, gripping his vase tighter. "Um…I don't think there's a light switch in this room."

"There isn't one in mine, either," Jeri said, glancing suspiciously at Kouji.

"Well, I'll just be going in there, then," Kouji said, taking a step into his room.

"Me too," Jeri said, mimicking Kouji's step.

They stayed there for a moment, and then peeked around the corners of the doorframes at the same time, both completely suspicious of the other.

—

"Well, there's no one hiding here," Takuya declared, taking one last look around the mini bar in the billiard room.

"Let's check the rest of the room," Yoshi said, inching her way along the wall toward the exit. Takuya did this on the opposite side of the bar until they both came to the small exit hole in the bar.

Takuya and Yoshi gave each other a look. "Think we can both fit through?" Takuya asked.

"You read my mind, goggle head," Yoshi said. "Alright; one, two, three!"

On three, both Takuya and Yoshi attempted to launch themselves through the bar exit at the same time, facing each other while trying it. It took a few seconds, but they both managed to squeeze through.

"It's a good thing anime characters are usually drawn anorexic," Yoshi commented.

"Yeah," Takuya agreed, scanning the room for other hiding places. All that he could see as a suitable hiding place would be under the billiard table.

Without saying a word, Takuya strode over to the billiard rack on the wall and grabbed a stick. Yoshi backed up and yelped, holding her arms in front of her protectively. Takuya put a finger to his lips and gestured toward the billiard table. Yoshi suddenly understood his plan and nodded.

Then the both of them walked over to the billiard table and crouched down, ready to find someone under it. But there was no one.

—

Henry and Zoe were still standing at the bottom of the steps, not having moved or spoken for several minutes.

"So…are you going up?" Henry asked lamely.

"Let's just go up together," Zoe said, rolling her eyes at Henry.

"Alright," Henry muttered, feeling embarrassed. (Aw, poor Henry!)

"Hey, why do you only feel bad for Henry, Madjack? You've never felt bad for the rest of us!" Zoe said accusingly. (It's called favoritism!) Zoe sighed, dropping the matter. "Let's just go," she said, taking a step up the stairs just as Henry did.

They continued to do this, but quickly realized that this staircase wasn't wide enough for two people to go up it next to each other. So they ended up squishing each other against the walls the whole way up.

—

Mimi finally relented and ended up going down the steps ahead of JP, keeping her back against the wall as she glanced nervously between JP at the top of the steps and whatever lay at the bottom of the steps.

She got to the bottom and turned on the lights, washing the basement in a dull glow. "Alright," she called, scanning the basement quickly. "It looks safe enough down here."

"Sure does," JP said from right behind Mimi.

Mimi shrieked, swinging her purse at whoever was behind her.

"Ow!" JP yelled, getting hit in the head with Mimi's purse. "Watch where you're swinging that thing!"

"It's your fault, you startled me!" Mimi retorted, backing away from JP. "From now on, just make sure not to get near me."

"Don't worry, that shouldn't be hard," JP muttered.

—

"Alright, I'll open it, then you run at the closet," Takuya said, stating the plan. "If there's someone in there, you'll hit them and knock them over. If not, you'll just run into a closet."

Yoshi nodded, taking her position in front of the closet. Takuya put his hand on the doorknob, ready to open it. "Okay…go!"

Takuya turned the knob and opened the door, and Yoshi ran into the empty closet. Takuya and Yoshi sighed in relief, both glad that there was no one there.

—

Kouji looked around the dark bedroom, holding his vase in front of him protectively. He couldn't hear anything except the sound of his own breathing.

He gulped and said nervously, "If there's anybody in here, just look out!"

When no reply came, he added, "I've got a vase and I'm not afraid to use it! Remember the second episode of Digimon Frontier? Well, imagine me doing that to you!"

In Jeri's room, she was a bit less nervous than Kouji, but just a bit.

"Are you hiding?" Jeri asked, glancing at all the dark crevices in the room. "I'm coming," she said, trying, but failing, to sound tough.

She then grabbed her puppet out of her pocket, stared at it for a moment, and said, "This is a freaking puppet!" Then she threw it angrily and it was lost in the darkness of the room.

"No wonder everyone thinks I'm insane," she muttered, backing up against a wall.

—

"What room's this?" Takuya asked, opening yet another door.

"Search me," Yoshi said, looking at the sparsely furnished room. The only distinguishing feature about it was the large window taking up the far wall adorned with maroon curtains.

Takuya glanced at Yoshi suspiciously. "Is there a reason I should search you?" he asked slowly, referring to her last statement.

"Eyes up here, short stuff," Yoshi said, pointing at her face.

"For the love of god, I'm not that short!" Takuya cried, exasperated.

—

"Eek!" Mimi shrieked, feeling something furry crawl over her foot. "Get it off!"

"Calm down, it's just a mouse," JP muttered, shooing the mouse away.

"Stupid flee-ridden mansion," Mimi mumbled to herself, continuing her search of the basement.

JP just rolled his eyes, still wishing he'd gotten paired with Zoe.

—

"There's really nowhere to hide in this room," Takuya stated, observing the scarcity of hiding places.

"What about behind the curtains?" Yoshi asked, pointing toward the large curtains on the far wall.

"Oh yeah," Takuya said, seeing Yoshi's point. "Well, since you pointed it out, you can be the one to check behind them! Okay thanks, bye!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Yoshi protested, but Takuya was already on his way to check the kitchen. "Stupid goggle head," Yoshi muttered to herself, staring at the curtains across the room.

Suddenly, she felt extremely nervous about crossing the room and checking behind the curtains by herself. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and began her slow trek across the room.

When she finally got across the room, her hands were shaking. She reached slowly for a curtain, grabbed it, pulled it quickly, and…

Yoshi was relieved to find that there was no one there.

—

Meanwhile, a police car was driving on the road that passed by the mansion, finishing up a patrol. And he wasn't happy about it.

"Stupid Yoshi ditches us to go to some stupid party," Marcus muttered to himself, glaring at the wet, rainy road ahead of him. "She's so taking my shift tomorrow."

Suddenly, Marcus noticed a large object sitting on the side of the road. Intrigued, he backed up and took a closer look at the object, realizing that it was a car.

"What's a car doing parked here?" he wondered to himself, pulling off the road to inspect the vehicle.

—

Back at the mansion, a gloved figure had snuck into the study, searching until he or she found what they were looking for. Finally, the object was found; Kouji's folder with all the evidence inside it.

The figure took the folder and threw it into the fireplace, letting it burn. Then the mysterious person went over to the cupboard, holding up its key. The person turned the key in the lock, opened the door, and retrieved from the cupboard the wrench.

—

Meanwhile, Marcus got out of his car, took a flashlight, and began searching inside the car, looking for a person.

"Hello?" he called, not getting an answer. Even with his flashlight, he realized he couldn't see inside the car with all the rain. So, he did what Marcus Damon always does.

He punched the window of the car, shattering the glass and allowing his search to be more thorough. "Hello?" he repeated, as if what he'd just done were normal. (Ah, Marcus, you crazy little violent person!)

Marcus didn't find anyone in the car, though. Not a soul.

—

"Yeah, I didn't get invited to this party, either," Kouichi said, talking with Thomas on the phone. "I mean, Madjack supposedly gave me a part in this, but I still have no clue what it is."

"I think she gave Marcus a part in this, too," Thomas muttered, getting annoyed. "How can she give him a part over me? Even Yoshi got a part!"

"I know," Kouichi agreed, nodding his head. "She gave Kouji, Zoe, Takuya, AND JP major parts and only had me drive up the road near a mansion. And my car broke down! I swear she jinxed it."

While Kouichi and Thomas continued complaining about me, the gloved figure crept up behind Kouichi, brandishing the wrench.

"Oh wait, she did give me some significance in the plot," Kouichi suddenly said, remembering what his character description had said. "I'm apparently an old employee of—"

Kouichi never got to finish his sentence, for the gloved figure hit him with the wrench at that exact moment. Kouichi fell with a thump to the floor, dropping the phone.

"Kouichi? Hello?" Thomas's voice came from the phone. The figure quickly picked up the phone and hung up.

—

Meanwhile, Marcus was STILL checking that stupid car!

"There might be someone here!" Marcus retorted, looking under the car. (There WAS someone in the car!)

"Yes, and upon further inspection of this car, I have concluded that it broke down!" Marcus declared triumphantly. (Okay Marcus, I'll humor you. If you were abandoned on the side of a road, what would you do?)

"Call someone on my cell phone," Marcus answered. (What if you didn't have your cell phone?) "I always have my—" (WHAT IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE YOUR CELL PHONE?!)

"Uh…I'd look for a house and ask to use their phone?" Marcus said nervously. (Very good! Now, do you see any houses?)

Marcus scanned the area, searching for a house. "The only place around here is that mansion on top of that hill." (Yes! Go to the mansion!)

"Uh, alright then," Marcus said, shrugging nonchalantly.

—

"Wow, this house is freaking huge!" Yoshi exclaimed, looking around at the conservatory. "It has everything, doesn't it?"

"Sure does," Takuya agreed, taking a closer look at a shelf crowded with random junk. He saw a flashlight and picked it up. "I wonder if this works," he pondered, leaning against the wall.

Suddenly, the wall opened up, causing to Takuya to fall backward. "Wah!" Takuya cried, landing in a stone passageway.

"Well, would you look at that," Yoshi said, ignoring Takuya and staring down the passageway. "A secret passageway!"

Takuya got up, dusting himself off and grabbing the flashlight. He flicked the switch on it and it sent a beam of the light down the passage. "I wonder where it leads."

"Why don't you find out? You discovered it," Yoshi said, shoving Takuya forward.

"Fine," Takuya grumbled, walking down the passageway with Yoshi close behind. The passageway went on for a while before ending abruptly at a wall.

"A dead end?" Takuya said. "Ripoff!"

"Maybe not," Yoshi said, pushing against the wall. The wall began to swivel around at Yoshi's touch, opening enough to let Takuya and Yoshi through.

"This is starting to feel a lot like Indiana Jones," Takuya muttered.

"Then pretend you're Harrison Ford," Yoshi replied sarcastically, shoving her way through the entry. Takuya quickly followed, humming the Indiana Jones theme to himself.

Once they were out of the passage, they realized where it led. "Hey, we're in the lounge!" Yoshi exclaimed. "This IS a ripoff!"

"Wait," Takuya said, slowly realizing something. "If we're in the lounge, where's Kouichi?"

Both Takuya and Yoshi turned their heads to see Kouichi lying on the floor, a wrench sitting next to his head.

"Oh my god," Takuya and Yoshi gasped in horror.

Suddenly, the secret door slammed shut behind the two, sealing them in.

"Oh shit!" Takuya cried, beginning to panic. Yoshi just started to scream.

Her scream was heard throughout the house, and everyone came rushing toward the source of it. JP and Mimi sprinted up from the basement, while the other four rushed down the upstairs hall, headed for the stairs. They came from opposite directions, though, and ended up colliding into each other.

"C'mon!" Mimi exclaimed, staring at the pile of people at the top of the stairs. They quickly got up and ran down the stairs, listening to try to pinpoint the location of the scream.

"The lounge!" Kouji yelled, figuring it out first.

JP, Henry, and Kouji quickly crowded around the door, trying to open it. "It's locked!" JP exclaimed.

"I know that!" Henry said sarcastically, feeling panicked.

"Well get the key!" JP suggested, turning to Kouji.

Kouji searched his pockets for a moment. "The key's gone!" he said.

"Well open the door!" JP exclaimed, turning back to Henry.

"I can't open the door without the key!" Henry cried, grabbing JP by the shirt and shaking him.

While this was going on, Takuya and Yoshi were struggling to open the door from the inside, but were unsuccessful.

Exasperated, Henry yelled, "Let us in! Let us in!"

Takuya and Yoshi replied, "Let us out! Let us out!"

"That's it!" Kouji said, pushing up his sleeve and backing up. "I'll just have to break it down!" With that he ran at the door, arm forward. However, when he actually came in contact with the door, he ended up slamming into it and falling backward, lying on the ground and clutching his chest in pain. (Koujipwned!)

"Hey, I know what to do!" Zoe suddenly exclaimed, rushing into the study. She quickly ran to the cupboard, grabbed the gun, and rushed back out.

Meanwhile, Mimi cried, "Will you all just shut up? We're trying to figure this out!"

"Guys, I've got the OOF!" Zoe exclaimed, tripping over Kouji. This caused her to accidently fire the gun into the air, hitting the rope that held the chandelier. It didn't fall, but the rope was weakened and it would probably fall at any moment.

The sound of the gunshot caused both JP and Henry to fall to the floor and cover their heads. Takuya and Yoshi crouched down, getting even more panicky. Mimi and Jeri started screaming and running around, but didn't look where they were going and ran into each other, both falling to the ground.

Zoe got back up and aimed the gun at the door. "Get down!" she yelled at both JP and Henry, who had started to get back up. They quickly ducked as Zoe fired the gun twice, breaking the lock.

"Ow!" Takuya cried, one of the bullets having grazed his arm. "Who the hell is shooting at us?!"

"The door's open, you can come out!" Zoe called, ignoring Takuya's cries.

Takuya quickly opened the door, stomping out into the middle of the hall and glaring at Zoe. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he yelled accusingly. "I could've been killed! You could've killed me with that!"

While Takuya was talking, the rope holding the chandelier unraveled faster and faster, until it finally broke and began its descent toward Takuya.

"I can't take any more scares," Takuya said in a calmer voice, taking a few steps forward. Seconds after, the chandelier fell with a crash to the floor, right where Takuya had been.

Everyone stared at Takuya, whose eyes were wide open in shock. After a moment, he said, "Screw you, Madjack."

—

_madjack89:_ After many months of careful planning, chapter five of Digital Clue is finally out!

_Kouji:_ Yeah right. You're just lazy.

_madjack89:_ …Shut up.

_Kouji:_ And by the way, what a GREAT part you gave Kouichi! I'll bet he LOVES it!

_madjack89:_ I knew someone would be mad…

_Zoe:_ Don't forget me!

_Takuya:_ And me!

_JP:_ And me!

_Henry:_ I liked Kouichi, so I'm mad, too!

_Yoshi:_ I liked Kouichi as well!

_Mimi:_ Kouichi was a good kid!

_Jeri:_ He never insulted me like you guys do!

_madjack89:_ Oh, wah! Deal with it! It's just part of the story!

_Everyone:_ Screw you!

_madjack89: sigh_ Well, I'll see you guys in the next exciting installment of Digital Clue!


	6. VI: This is getting serious

**Digital Clue**

**VI: This is getting serious**

_madjack89:_ Alright, I'm ready to just finish this story! It has been hanging over my head for months, so now I'm just gonna finish it up! So expect fast, super-human updates on this over the next few days!

_Takuya:_ How much more could you possibly do to us?

_madjack89:_ About…six more chapters of stuff.

_Takuya:_ …

_Yoshi:_ You know, I noticed something from this story.

_Kouji:_ What?

_Yoshi:_ You guys from Frontier complain a lot, don't you?

_Takuya, Kouji, JP, and Zoe:_ …

_Jeri:_ You know, that's a very good point.

_Mimi:_ Yeah, these guys seem to be big complainers.

_Yoshi:_ You don't see us complaining that much.

_Jeri and Mimi:_ Nope.

_madjack89:_ Ha ha, you guys are so right! I should write about you more often!

_Kouji:_ For the love of god, no!

_Yoshi:_ Complaining!

_Kouji: too angry for words_

_madjack89:_ Alright, while Kouji's head explodes from anger, I shall answer reviews!

-

_Dawn of Glory:_ Sorry! I had to! You understand sadistic authorness, though, so I don't have to explain that! Thanks for reviewing! (Sakura, Nausicaa, get away from those cigars! They poison your health!)

_Kuroi Bara-676:_ Sorry, had to be done! Oh, so you and gothic k-210 are the same person! I'll have to store that in my memory bank. (storing…) Okay, all done! (lol) Continue reading to find out who are the last three to be killed (that's right, three)! On another note, I don't know of the story "And Then There Were None." Is it horror, because if it is I can't read it. I can't handle horror. (shock)

_DigiBleach:_ Heh, sorry! But at least he's not dead in F2R! Glad you like the story, and Jeri is creepy!

_blackandblood:_ Yeah, poor Kouichi. I'm not really a Takumi fan, so that won't really be in this story. I don't have anything against Takumi, I'm just a big Kouizumi fan! Anyway, Marcus can be a moron at times (but that is why we love him)! Thanks for reviewing!

_hazeleyedharmony:_ Yes, praised be the Lord, the puppet is dead! (lol) That was a pretty nice phone call, wasn't it? (It's like Crispin Freeman having a conversation with himself!) Yeah, Kouichi's in the Digital World, and instead of going to the Dark Area, he went to the land of fluffy kittens and rainbows! (Though that might scare him worse…) Thanks for reviewing!

-

_madjack89:_ Okay, time for Digital Clue: part six!

_Takuya:_ I can't believe we've hung in for six chapters…

_Yoshi:_ Complaining!

_Takuya:_ You know what, Yoshi? Shut up!

_Yoshi:_ …

—

"Easy, Kouji," JP said, watching warily as Kouji just stared at Kouichi's body.

Kouji didn't say anything. He just turned around and walked to the other side of the room, being careful not to step on too much glass from the fallen chandelier.

"Who would do this?" Zoe asked quietly, still holding the gun. "Who would kill Kouichi?"

"Who would kill Sora and Matt?" Yoshi retorted.

Takuya glanced at Kouji, feeling some pity toward him. He walked across the room, stopped behind Kouji and said, "Hey buddy, it's gonna be okay, you know? I mean, it's just a story. Go to F2R and you'll see Kouichi right as rain."

Kouji didn't respond, and for a moment Takuya thought Kouji hadn't heard him. Then Kouji suddenly turned around and punched Takuya in the face. Takuya fell to the floor, clutching his nose. "Why is it always the freaking nose?!" Takuya cried.

Kouji took a few sharp breaths and said, "Okay, now I feel better."

"Nice one," Yoshi commented, smirking. Everyone else just glanced at Takuya. No one tried to help him up or anything. (Ha, poor Taki!)

"You all suck," Takuya muttered to himself, getting back to his feet.

"Hey, wait a second," Mimi said suddenly, getting back to the plot. "How did Takuya and Yoshi get stuck in the lounge?"

"We found a secret passageway leading from the conservatory to here," Yoshi replied, pointing at the swivel wall they'd entered through. "We both came in that way and found Kouichi dead!"

"So who killed him?" JP asked.

"Well, isn't that the million dollar question today!" Yoshi said sarcastically.

JP was about to respond to Yoshi angrily when he noticed something. "Uh, Zoe, you have a gun."

"Yeah," Zoe replied, holding it up. "I used it to open the lock."

"But, isn't that the same gun that I got from Matt earlier?" JP asked. "The one Kouji locked in the cupboard in the study?"

Suddenly, Zoe realized what he was getting at. "The cupboard was unlocked!"

Everyone immediately rushed to the study to see the open cupboard for themselves. Zoe dropped her gun on the floor in her hast, and it landed among the wreckage of the chandelier. (PLOT POINT!)

In the study, everyone saw that Zoe was right. The cupboard had been unlocked, though they'd made sure the key was thrown outside.

"How did you know that the cupboard was unlocked?" Mimi asked Zoe suspiciously. "How did you know that you could get to the gun?"

"I didn't know!" Zoe replied defensively. "I thought that I'd be able to break it open, but it was already unlocked! With all the panic going on, I didn't realize that someone must have unlocked it until JP mentioned it!"

"A likely story," Yoshi muttered.

Before anyone could add more, the doorbell rang. Everyone stood motionless, afraid to answer it. "Maybe they'll just go away," Mimi whispered. The others held their breath, hoping she was right.

Their hopes were dashed when the bell rang again a few moments later. "Damn it," Mimi cursed.

"I'm gonna open it," Henry suddenly stated, startling everyone.

"No!" the others hissed at him.

"We haven't figured out who the murderer is yet," Takuya added.

"Well, whoever the murderer is can worry about that," Henry retorted. "As for me, I have absolutely nothing to hide, because I didn't do it!" Henry then strode over to Kouji and held out his hand. "Give me the key," he demanded.

Kouji hesitated, but eventually relented and handed the key over to Henry. Then Henry strode down the hall to open the door, the others following anxiously behind.

"You know, he's kind of hot when he gets all authoritative like that," Yoshi muttered to Jeri. Jeri nodded in agreement.

Henry, still in macho mode (lol), took the key, turned it in the lock, and opened the door.

"Hey there," Marcus said, before getting the door slammed in his face.

A second later, Henry opened the door back up, macho mode gone (aw…). "Um…alright then," Marcus said, not questioning Henry's behavior. "Hey, there's this car parked down the road, and I was wondering if the driver came in here for any assistance. Plus it's raining, and it's nice and dry under this porch."

"Yes, the driver did come," Henry answered.

"NO HE DIDN'T!" the others cried, overpowering Henry's statement.

"Uh…is there some sort of disagreement going on?" Marcus asked, confused.

"NO!" the others said loudly.

"Yes," Henry said quietly.

Marcus just stared at the group. "Can I just use your phone?"

"Why does everyone want to use the god damn phone," JP muttered under his breath.

"Of course you can use the phone," Kouji said, stepping in. "You can use the one in the stud…in the loun…in the library!"

"Alright," Marcus agreed, beginning to get freaked out by everyone's behavior. As he walked in, he glanced at Zoe and said, "Hey, don't I know you from somewhere in the context of the fanfiction?"

Zoe shrugged, not really caring anymore.

Kouji quickly led him into the house while Yoshi and JP ran to shut the study and lounge doors. Marcus glanced at everyone's almost creepy smiles and said, "Are you all high? Because I'm pretty sure you're all way too young to get high."

"Speak for yourself!" Yoshi said huffily.

"We're not high, we're just a little jumpy," Kouji said, glancing at the chandelier. "That chandelier fell and almost killed us."

"Oh," Marcus said, satisfied enough with this answer.

Kouji led Marcus into the library and said, "Alright, you can make your call here. Feel free to have a drink. Oh, but not the cognac, just in case," he added, referring to JP's earlier theory of Matt being poisoned.

Before Marcus could ask what that meant, Kouji closed and locked the door. Marcus stared at the lock, then at the door, figuring he could break it down if he had to. (That's our Marcus!)

Then he walked over to the phone, but before he could pick it up, it started to ring. He looked around for a second, then picked it up. "Hello?"

Meanwhile, the others were gathered in the hallway. "We should've told him," Henry said.

"And what good would that do?" Yoshi asked. "What would Marcus do about it? It's Marcus!"

"What's done is done," Kouji interjected, settling the matter. "Let's just clean this up," he added, gesturing toward the chandelier. The others agreed and had already moved the big part of the chandelier to the side of the room when Marcus started banging on the library door.

"Hey, let me out! I can have you arrested, you know!" Marcus called, feeling like waving his authority around a bit. "I can book you for false arrest, and obstructing an officer in the course of his duty, and murder!"

Kouji quickly unlocked and opened the door. "What do you mean, murder?" he asked, smiling nervously.

"I just said that to mess with you," Marcus said, chuckling. The others chuckled nervously, feeling relieved. "Anyway," Marcus continued, getting to his point. "I wanted to let you know that Ken called for some reason. No idea why."

"I'll answer it," Kouji said quickly, walking into the study.

"Why is Ken calling you?" Takuya asked.

"I don't know," Kouji replied defensively, shutting the door behind him and leaving the others with Marcus.

"Well, can someone give me a tour of the mansion?" Marcus asked suddenly.

"Why?" JP asked.

"Because I want to see what kind of party could make Yoshi miss her shift so she has to ask me to cover for her on my day off," Marcus replied bitterly, glaring at Yoshi.

Yoshi was about to refuse to give Marcus his tour when she got an idea. "Yeah, you can have a tour," she said slowly, glancing at Henry. "Henry can show you around."

"I can?" Henry asked, surprised.

"Of course," Yoshi replied. "You can show him the dining room, and the kitchen, and the ballroom."

Henry smiled nervously, still not getting what Yoshi was doing. "Okay," he agreed hesitantly, grabbing Marcus by the shoulders and pushing him toward the dining room. "I can show him the dining room, and the kitchen, and the ballroom."

Once the two of them were out of sight, Yoshi whispered, "Alright guys, I have a plan. Follow me."

"Before that, I have a question," Takuya said. "Since when did the Data Squad start taking over regular police duties?"

"Job cuts," Yoshi answered, leading everyone into the study.

While that was taking place, Marcus was looking around the dining room, inspecting every nook and cranny. Henry just stood near the doorway, looking nervous.

"So you all got invited to this party, yet no one bothered to invite any of the other Digimon characters?" Marcus asked.

"I guess that's the gist of it," Henry replied sheepishly. "Want to see the ballroom?" he asked, changing the subject.

Marcus stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Actually, I think I want to see what's in those two rooms," he said, pointing to the study and lounge. "Seems like all the action's going on in there."

"You'd be right about that," Henry muttered to himself.

As Marcus began to head toward the study, Henry said, "You know, there's really nothing to see in that room, why don't we just head somewhere else?"

"No, I really want to see what's going on in here," Marcus said, reaching for the doorknob.

In a last attempt at stopping Marcus, Henry got in front of him and said, "It's all too shocking!"

"I'm sure," Marcus muttered, shoving Henry out of the way and opening the door.

In the study, Jeri lay on top of Matt's corpse on the couch, pretending to make out with it. She even grabbed his arm and curled it around her waist to make it look real.

On the other side of the room, Takuya was pretending to make out with Sora's corpse. He was grabbing it from the front while Mimi propped it up from the back, hiding herself behind a curtain. Mimi also wrapped her arms around both Sora and Takuya, making it look like Sora was holding Takuya.

Marcus and Henry could only stare wide-eyed at this scene for a moment. Then Marcus said, "I knew Sorato would never last," and shut the door.

Everyone in the study instantly relaxed. Jeri quickly got off Matt and brushed herself off while Takuya and Mimi let Sora drop to the ground.

"Ew, he tasted like corpse," Jeri whined, looking around for a drink to wash the taste out of her mouth.

"I'm asking JP for a toothbrush later," Takuya muttered.

Meanwhile, in the hallway, Marcus was headed to the door of the lounge. "Well, it was shocking, but nothing you really had to hide from me," Marcus said to Henry. Henry just nodded, still feeling shell-shocked from what he'd just witnessed.

Marcus opened the door to the lounge to find Yoshi and JP curled up on a chair, making out. On the opposite chair, they'd propped up Kouichi, put a hat on his head to hide the mark left by the wrench, and spilled wine all over him to make him seem drunk. They'd also placed the empty wine bottle in his hand.

When they realized Marcus was there, they stopped, plastering big smiles on their faces. Marcus stared at them for a second, then said, "You made me take your shift so you could go to a party and make out with JP?!"

"Well, all the girlies say he's pretty fly for a white guy," Yoshi replied, smirking.

"You swore you'd never speak of that again," JP growled, glaring at Yoshi. (Ha ha, JP!)

Marcus sighed, noticing how drunk Kouichi looked. "And what'd you do to him? He doesn't even drink!"

"Oh, Kouichi is a party animal!" JP exclaimed, putting as much enthusiasm as he could into his voice. "You should've seen him at the wrap party for Digimon Frontier! Oh yeah!" _Actually, all he did there was stand near the snack table looking uncomfortable, but lying is lying!_

"He's not driving home, is he?" Marcus asked.

"Oh no, we'll get him a car," Yoshi said reassuringly.

"A long black car," JP added without thinking.

"A limousine," Yoshi said quickly, correcting JP's statement.

"Whatever," Marcus muttered, leaving the room.

As soon as he shut the door, Yoshi and JP glanced at each other and said, "Last time," referring to making out.

Back in the hallway, Kouji was just coming out of the library and saw Marcus exiting the lounge. Panicking, he ran up to Marcus and said, "Look, I can explain."

"Don't bother, I already saw what you guys are doing," Marcus said, waving Kouji off.

"You did?" Kouji asked, glancing at Henry.

Henry nodded as Marcus continued, "Yeah, I guess I can see why Yoshi would want to be at this party."

"You do?" Kouji asked, confused.

"Besides," Marcus added, "I can't stop her from having fun now and again. It's a free country, after all."

"I didn't know it was that free," Kouji said.

"Alright!" Henry said, interrupting Kouji. "Let's get you back to the library so you can make that call, Marcus!"

"Okay," Marcus agreed, walking back into the study. Kouji quickly closed the door and locked it again.

"Uh, what just happened?" Kouji asked, noticing everyone else coming out of the study and lounge.

"Don't worry about it," Yoshi replied. "Let's just finish searching the house."

Everyone else agreed, and soon they were all back with their designated partners in their designated areas.

—

"As they say, let's return to the scene of the crime," Takuya said, following Yoshi into the kitchen. Yoshi rolled her eyes and walked to the far side of the room while Takuya inspected the opposite side.

Takuya walked along the wall, searching for anything that could prove to be a hiding place. Finally, he saw a small door set in the wall with a little handle near the top. He reached for the handle and pulled on the door…

Only to get hit on the head with an ironing board, which was being stored in the small closet space. "Ow," Takuya muttered, rubbing his head.

Meanwhile, Yoshi opened the door to the meat cooler, wondering whether the murderer would really return to the scene of the crime. It seemed empty, but Yoshi stepped inside to take a closer look, grabbing a hook on the ceiling for support.

The hook turned out to be a handle, for Yoshi pulled it down slightly. Yoshi stared in wonder as a doorway opened up at the back of the meat cooler. "Sweet, another secret passage," she said, motioning for Takuya to join her.

Yoshi was staring down the long dark passage as Takuya stepped up next to her and said, "Well, you can go in first. After all, you discovered it."

"Ha ha, very funny," Yoshi muttered, rolling her eyes. She then began to walk down the long corridor, followed closely by Takuya. They soon came to another dead end and this time knew immediately to push the wall.

Like last time, the wall swiveled open, letting Yoshi and Takuya through the wall. They looked around for a moment and realized they were in the study. They glanced back at the wall and saw that a large portrait that had been hanging on the wall was merely a doorway for the passage.

"Well, that's anticlimactic," Yoshi said, shutting the portrait door behind her. "But at least we didn't find any more dead people."

"If we ignore the two corpses that are already here," Takuya muttered sarcastically, glancing at Sora and Matt. "Let's just try the ballroom again," he added, exiting the study along with Yoshi.

—

"So, find anything yet?" Zoe asked Henry, crouching down to check behind a dusty armchair.

"Nothing but junk," Henry replied, shaking his head. "You?"

"If I'd found someone, I'd probably scream my head off and punch them in a wild frenzy," Zoe said flatly, now searching behind a pile of boxes.

A silence fell over the pair for a minute. Then Henry said, "Hey, I'm sorry you had to see Kouichi like that."

"Aren't we all," she mumbled, clearly in an irritable mood.

"Just saying," Henry muttered, continuing his search.

—

While the others continued their searches, a gloved figure opened the door below the staircase quietly, revealing a large switch. The figure pulled the switch down, and the power for the entire mansion instantly shut off, leaving everyone in the dark.

Suddenly, the mansion erupted in shrieks and screams from the surprised guests. All except for Zoe, who was creeping quietly down the stairs toward the billiard room.

She opened the door slowly, glancing around inside. "Close the door," a voice suddenly commanded from the shadows. Zoe stared curiously into the room, but could not figure out the person's identity.

"Were you recognized?" the voice continued.

"Pretty much," Zoe muttered. "At least, like, four people know who I am."

Suddenly, the gloved figure leapt from the shadows, throwing the noose around Zoe's neck. "It's you!" Zoe managed to gasp before the figure pulled the rope tighter, strangling Zoe.

—

"Aw man," Marcus muttered as the power went out. "How do I make my stupid call now? I didn't even want to make a call, Madjack suggested I make one when I got here!"

Suddenly, lightening flashed outside, lighting up the room briefly. And behind Marcus, the gloved figure was holding the lead pipe above Marcus's head, ready to make the killing blow.

—

Suddenly the doorbell rang. After a brief moment, someone answered the door.

On the porch stood Yolei, wearing the uniform of a singing telegram. "Alright, do I really have to sing?"

_BANG!_

Yolei fell to the ground, instantly killed by the gunshot.

—

"Why didn't I think of this two minutes ago?" Kouji muttered to himself, running quickly down the steps. Then he thrust open the door under the stairs and switched the electricity back on.

The lights instantly came on again, and the shrieking and screaming stopped. Kouji waited as the others gathered together in the main hallway, looking nervous. Then they all noticed Zoe lying in the billiard room, a rope around her neck.

Without giving her a second glance, they moved on to the open library door, where Marcus lay on the ground, a lead pipe next to his head.

After a moment, JP said, "So who was shot?"

"I thought I heard the front door slam," Yoshi said, turning to the front door. "Oh god, what if the murderer ran out?"

Everyone raced to the door and Kouji wrenched it open. They stopped when they noticed Yolei on the porch, a bullet wound in her chest.

"Three murders," Takuya said softly.

"Six altogether," Henry added.

"This is getting serious," Kouji said, turning abruptly to face the others. "Alright," he said, smiling cockily, "I know who did it."

—

_Takuya:_ How could you possibly know who did it, Kouji?!

_Kouji:_ You'll see next chapter, won't you?

_madjack89:_ Yes, we shall all learn more about these vicious killings in chapter seven. Hurry and get those reviews in, by the way, because the next chapter may just come tomorrow. Alright, until then, see ya!


	7. VII: How it was all done

**Digital Clue**

**VII: How it was all done**

_madjack89:_ Alright, time to bring this mystery to a close!

_Henry:_ Then we're finally going to figure out who did it in this chapter?

_madjack89:_ Maybe…

_Takuya:_ That's not a good sign, Henry.

_Henry:_ I'm beginning to get that.

_madjack89:_ Review time!

-

_blackandblood:_ Don't we all? Well, you're about to find out!

_Dawn of Glory:_ Little old me? Why, what would give you that idea? (_Kouji:_ Gee, I don't know.) Go away, Kouji, you already know who it is! Okay, thanks for reviewing!

_fg1fg:_ Head for the safe zone, accomplice! (lol) Aw, that's a nice thought for Kouichi and Zoe! If they weren't dead, I'm sure they'd think so, too! I'm sorry that I pick on Jeri so much, but I always thought she was a bit…insane. No offense, of course! Alright, thanks for reviewing!

_hazeleyedharmony:_ YES, YES I DO! (twitches)  
Oh, I won't kill them ALL off, just those six! Though it is quite efficient…  
Ha, she got you there, Taki! (_Takuya:_ Jeri did it too!) And that redeems you how? (_Takuya:_ …Shut up!)  
Yes, Crispin will be missed. Luckily, he's still in F2R!  
Like I said, I REALLY REALLY just want to finish this story and be done with it! (Heh, shlubs.) Thanks for reviewing!

-

_madjack89:_ Alright, time for the seventh chapter of Digital Clue! _ominous music plays_

—

The others stared at Kouji as he walked past them into the hallway, amazed by his last statement. While they crowded around him, Kouji glanced around the wreckage left by the chandelier. "Just as I thought; no gun," he muttered to himself. "Zoe dropped it here."

"Okay, back up," Takuya said, feeling confused. "Did you just say you know who the murderer is?"

"Yup," Kouji replied, turning and smirking at Takuya. "And I'm going to explain how it was done, step by step."

"Why?" JP asked.

"Because," Kouji said, shrugging. He then walked over to the study, the others on his tail. When everyone had entered the study, Kouji began, "Alright, this evening all started here, with me and Zoe. Zoe was dusting stuff and I was in the hall, waiting for you guys to arrive."

As Kouji said this he moved into the hall, acting out what he said. "I went to the kitchen," Kouji continued, leading everyone to the kitchen, "and Sora was here, sharpening knifes. Then I went back into the hallway."

Kouji turned and rushed back into the hallway, having spent only a short moment in the kitchen. The others glanced confusedly at each other, but followed Kouji to the front door.

"I opened the door for Takuya and led him to the study," Kouji said, running over to the study. The others followed, but had to quickly turn around when Kouji ran back to the front door.

"Then I opened the door for Jeri and led her to the study." Once again, Kouji ran to the study, the others following at a more leisurely pace than before.

"When I brought her in here, Jeri and Zoe were SUPPOSED to flinch," Kouji explained, glaring at Jeri.

"Sorry," Jeri muttered, crossing her arms.

"Then, to make a long story short," Kouji began.

"Too late," everyone said sarcastically.

"One by one, you all arrived," Kouji finished, running across the hall to the dining room.

The others groaned, but followed. "Where the hell is he getting this energy?" Takuya muttered to himself as he joined the others in the dining room.

"When Sora struck the gong, you were all seated in here," Kouji said, standing at the head of the table. "This seat was empty."

"For Matt," Yoshi said, hoping to speed things along.

"Right," Kouji agreed, nodding. "At dinner, you realized you'd all received a letter to come here."

"Okay, what is the point of this stupid recap!" Takuya cried, exasperated.

"The point is blackmail!" Kouji yelled back, running back to the study. Everyone ran after him, including a sullen-looking Takuya.

In the study, Kouji continued, "After confessing your secrets—"

"More like you revealing our secrets," Mimi accused.

"Confessing, revealing, same difference," Kouji muttered, rolling his eyes at Mimi. "Anyway, after all that, Matt got his presents from the hall, and you all opened them."

Kouji stood next to the light switch and said, "Then Matt turned off the lights." The room went dark as he reenacted the earlier scene and switched off the lights. Everyone screamed simultaneously, terrified by the darkness.

"Hey, I found the light switch!" Mimi exclaimed after a moment, turning the lights back on. She then gasped when she saw Kouji lying facedown on the floor in front of her, unmoving.

"Well, I can't really say I didn't see this coming," Takuya said.

Suddenly, Kouji lifted himself to his knees, smiling cockily. Everyone jumped in surprise. "What the hell was that for?!" Yoshi cried angrily.

"Just messing with you," Kouji answered, smirking. "And I have to say I understand Madjack's constant teasing a little more now. It is pretty fun to pick on you." (Yay, I have a sidekick!) "Don't push it."

"Alright, so Matt was lying dead on the floor like that," Henry stated, getting back to business.

"Wrong," Kouji said, getting to his feet. "We found Matt later with brand new wounds. Why would someone want to kill him again unless he wasn't already dead?"

"He was dead!" JP exclaimed defensively. "I examined him, remember?"

"Then how do you explain his new wounds?" Kouji retorted.

JP paused, beaten by Kouji's logic. "Alright, maybe I made a mistake!"

"So then who killed Matt?" Jeri asked. "And for that matter, who killed everyone else?"

"I'm getting there," Kouji said reassuringly, continuing the recap. "After that, JP said, 'Maybe Matt was poisoned!' and Mimi screamed, and Henry slapped her." While he said this, he walked over to Mimi and slapped her in the face. "No, I didn't have to do that, I just wanted to, because frankly, I find you annoying. Moving on."

Kouji gestured for the others to follow him out of the hall, with Mimi glaring angrily at him. He stopped in front of the billiard room and continued, "Zoe was screaming, and we all rushed to help her. But, someone wasn't here."

"Hey, that's right," JP said, turning to look at Mimi. "You stayed in the study while we checked on Zoe!"

"I didn't do it!" Mimi cried, frustrated. "I thought he was already dead! And I joined you guys later!"

"Yeah, after you committed the dark deed," Takuya said accusingly.

"If I may continue," Kouji said loudly, quieting the others. "Someone could have been murdering the cook while we were here. It could have been Mimi…or someone could have snuck away unnoticed."

Kouji ran back to the study and grabbed a knife while the others watched from the billiard room door. "They could easily have grabbed the dagger, run down the hall," he explained, running toward the kitchen with the knife, "and stabbed the cook."

In the kitchen, Kouji stuck the knife in the counter to emphasize his point. "What's with all the running?" JP complained, joining everyone in the kitchen.

"Okay, fine, that could have happened," Yoshi said, conceding to Kouji's point. "But we could have seen them running back. How could they risk it?"

"Well," Kouji began, opening the meat cooler. "They could have used this secret passageway," he said, pulling on the handle and opening the passage up. "It leads right back to the study."

"Hey, how'd you know about that?" Takuya asked.

"How'd YOU know about that?" Jeri retorted, staring suspiciously at Takuya.

"We found the passage earlier," Yoshi explained, turning to Kouji. "More importantly, how did you know about it?"

"A friend of mine owns this house," Kouji replied. "I've known all along."

"Then you could be the murderer!" JP exclaimed, pointing at Kouji.

Kouji sighed. "JP, if I was the murderer, why would I reveal how I did it?"

"Good point," JP muttered, defeated.

"Alright, I'm still confused," Takuya stated suddenly.

"That's hard to believe," Kouji muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Takuya glared at Kouji before continuing, "What I don't get is why was Sora murdered, anyway? She had nothing to do with this."

"Wrong again," Kouji said. "Everyone here tonight was involved with Matt. The six that died were Matt's accomplices. They gave him his information about all of you. Sora knew a secret about one of you, as did Zoe, Marcus, and the others."

"Even Kouichi?" Takuya said, shocked. "God, you think you know a guy…"

"But someone would have to know they were all involved," Henry pointed out.

Kouji nodded, turning his attention to Jeri. "You knew Zoe, didn't you? Don't deny it."

"I'm not denying it," Jeri said, confused.

"Another denial," Kouji retorted.

"Alright, here's what the script says," Jeri said, taking out her script. "I knew Zoe because she had an affair with Takato."

"Nice," Takuya muttered.

"And we already knew Takuya was one of your clients," Kouji continued, turning to Yoshi and Takuya. "Not only that, but when he went to your 'establishment,' he and Zoe…"

"Alright, I think that's enough of this exposition!" Takuya said loudly, smiling nervously.

"Sicko," JP muttered, glaring at Takuya.

"Anyway," Kouji said, "the murderer went through the secret passageway to the study."

Everyone suddenly left the kitchen and ran to the study, preempting Kouji's next move. Kouji took the passage, jumping out as everyone entered the study.

"Matt lay on the floor, apparently dead," Kouji said, shoving Henry down for visual aid. "But, as he got up," here Kouji grabbed Henry and pulled him back to his feet, "the murderer crept out of the secret passage. Seeing his chance to escape after someone tried to kill him with the gun, Matt ran out into the hall, while the murderer grabbed the candlestick and followed him."

Kouji picked up the candlestick from the table and ran toward Henry, who ran away from Kouji and down the hall. Kouji followed, brandishing the candlestick. "The murderer hit Matt with the candlestick," Kouji said, pretending to hit Henry, "grabbed him," Kouji grabbed Henry, "and stuffed him in the bathroom."

Kouji threw Henry into the bathroom and shut the door. "It took less than half a minute," he finished.

"Can I come out now?" Henry asked from inside the bathroom.

"Then we went back to the study," Kouji said, ignoring Henry and running back to the study. Henry came out anyway, sighing.

"We locked the weapons in the cupboard, then went to throw out the key," Kouji said quickly, leaving the study just as Henry entered.

"Son of a bitch," Henry mumbled, following everyone to the front door.

"I took out the key and opened the door," Kouji began, lifting his arm and opening the door. "But I didn't throw the key out then because Kouichi was here. I put the key back in my pocket. Someone could easily have taken it from my pocket without my noticing."

"But we were all panicky, anyone could have done that," JP said despairingly.

"Wait a minute," Henry said, suddenly realizing something. "The script says that Takuya has a top secret Pentagon job and Takato was a nuclear physicist. Zoe's a link between them!"

"So this has turned into government crap?" JP asked incredulously. "Dang it, Madjack, that's a bit over the top, even for you!" (You ain't seen nothing yet, Shibayama.)

"Okay, so what's you're secret Pentagon job, goggle boy?" Yoshi asked Takuya.

"He's working on the next fusion bomb," Kouji replied before Takuya could.

"Wait, the Pentagon and fusion bombs? Are we in America?" Mimi asked, confused. (You of all the people here should know where this is, Mimi!) "You never told me this fanfiction was set in America!" (ARRRRGGGGHHHH!)

"Anyway," Kouji said, glancing warily at me, "I said earlier that everyone that died tonight informed Matt about all of your misdeeds."

"So who informed on you?" Yoshi asked, still addressing Takuya.

Takuya paused, and then sighed heavily. "It was Kouichi. He was my driver in the war."

"Hey, that means that you knew all along that Kouichi was gonna get involved in this story!" JP said accusingly.

"Well, I had a hunch when I saw it in the script, I just didn't know what would happen," Takuya said sheepishly. "Anyway, Kouichi blabbed that I was a war profiteer. I stole some parts for radios and sold them on the black market to make a quick buck. But that doesn't make me a murderer!"

"I never said that," Kouji said defensively. "I haven't revealed the murderer yet."

"So how's Marcus involved?" Henry asked.

"I bribed him in order to keep my business going," Yoshi replied.

"Did you bribe him, or 'bribe him?'" Jeri asked suspiciously, making air quotes.

"Heck, I didn't even need to resort to that," Yoshi said, scoffing. "All I did was take him to a gourmet meal."

"Well, he did like to eat," Jeri muttered.

"And Yolei?" Henry asked, glancing at Yolei lying on the porch.

JP raised his hand. "Yolei was a patient of mine. Yes, she was the first Digimon character to realize she needed some counseling."

The others glared at JP as he continued. "Anyway, I had an affair with her. That's how I lost my license."

"You settled for Yolei?" Yoshi asked skeptically.

"She's not that bad, actually," JP mused.

"Okay, let's put her in the study with the others," Kouji said quickly, motioning for Takuya and Henry to help him move Yolei's body to the study.

"Okay, I think I'm beginning to get it," Mimi said slowly after Yolei's body had been moved. "Whoever killed Matt wanted his accomplices dead, too."

"But which of us knew that they were his accomplices?" Takuya asked. "I mean, I suspected Kouichi, but I didn't know about anyone else."

"I'm getting to that," Kouji said, getting back to his exposition. "So the murderer got at the weapons with the key they took from me. Then Takuya suggested we split up."

"Hey, that's right! That was Takuya's suggestion!" Jeri exclaimed, glaring accusingly at Takuya.

"Shut up, Jeri!" Takuya retorted angrily. "You're the last person here that should be accusing me of anything!"

Before Jeri could reply, Kouji continued, "Someone managed to sneak away from their partner and used the key to get the wrench. Not only that, but I noticed the evidence against you guys wasn't in the study. I'd bet anything that the murderer looked over it, then burned it in the fireplace."

"Then they would know about Matt's accomplices," JP stated.

Kouji nodded. "The murderer used the secret passage to get into the lounge, and killed Kouichi with the wrench."

"And Takuya and Yoshi were found in there," Henry said, staring at the two suspiciously. "They said they found the passage accidentally."

"We did!" Takuya cried.

"You did, you mean," Yoshi retorted. "You could have known about it all along."

"So could you!" Takuya said accusingly. "After all, you found the second passage!"

"Let me finish!" Kouji yelled, shutting the two up. "Yes, those two got trapped in the lounge, and my key was missing. Then Zoe hit the lock with the gun; bang!" Kouji pointed his finger like a gun at the door while he said this. "Then the chandelier fell, and the doorbell rang."

Suddenly (and ironically), the doorbell rang, making everyone jump in surprise. "Oh my god, whoever's there has to leave or they'll be killed!" Mimi cried, rushing to the door and opening it.

"Hello," TK said cheerfully, standing on the porch and holding up a pamphlet. "Has anyone here ever given any thought to the kingdom of God?"

"What?!" Mimi said incredulously, staring at TK with confusion. "You're not religious!"

"Sure I am!" TK replied. "Just repent; the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"

"Did you brainwash TK, Madjack?" Takuya asked me. (No…)

"C'mon, Armageddon's at hand," TK said more forcefully.

"Let me tell you something, man, it's already here!" JP said sarcastically.

"Your souls are in danger!" TK said pleadingly.

"Our lives are in danger, you Gilligan wannabe!" Mimi yelled angrily, slamming the door in TK's face. Turning around, she added to Kouji, "Alright, what happened next?!"

"Uh…" Kouji muttered nervously, backing away from Mimi. "I locked Marcus in the library, and we continued our search."

Kouji walked to the space under the stairs and opened the door to the electricity switch. "Then someone turned off the lights," he said, switching the lights off. Like before, everyone screamed.

—

_Takuya:_ Wait, what? How can you end it here?!

_Yoshi:_ We don't know who the murderer is yet!

_madjack89:_ Calm down, you'll find out in the next chapter, which should come quickly!

_Takuya and Yoshi:_ Good.


	8. VIII: A red herring

**Digital Clue**

**VIII: A red herring**

_madjack89:_ Alright, this time I promise we'll find out who the murderer is!

_Henry:_ I've heard that before…

_madjack89:_ I'm serious! Wait, let me answer reviews!

-

_fg1fg:_ Sorry, I had to do it, as you will soon see. Just keep hiding a little bit longer! (lol) Ah, TK. I had a tough time picking a character to play that part, but then I thought TK would be good! Thanks for reviewing!

_Dawn of Glory:_ Sorry, but it's almost over, don't worry! Thanks for reviewing and saying I'm clever! (People usually just say I'm spacey and clumsy!)

_blackandblood:_ Don't worry, the end is upon us! Wouldn't want the suspense to kill you! Thanks for reviewing!

-

_madjack89:_ Okay, watch this, Henry!

—

Kouji quickly turned the lights back on and walked back into the hallway. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare anybody," Kouji apologized.

"You're a bit late for that!" Takuya yelled hysterically.

"Alright, so after the lights went out, Zoe, Marcus, and Yolei were killed," Yoshi said, ticking them off on her fingers. "But who did it?"

"And who killed Matt and Sora?" Henry added.

"None of us killed Matt and Sora," Kouji said, finally coming to his conclusion. "There was one other person missing for most of the time in the kitchen: Zoe."

"Zoe?!" JP and Takuya exclaimed at once.

"Afraid so," Kouji said. "Just think about it. She was listening to our conversation in the study. When she heard us panicking over Matt, she crept into the study unnoticed, picked up the dagger that Mimi dropped, ran down the hall, and stabbed Sora. We didn't hear Sora scream because Mimi was screaming about being poisoned."

"By the way, I'm not really poisoned, am I?" Mimi asked nervously.

"Then she went back to the billiard room and started to scream, bringing us all into the hall," Kouji continued, ignoring Mimi. "When we all ran to check on Sora, Zoe quietly snuck back into the study, watched Matt's attempt at escape, hit him with the candlestick, and stuffed his body in the bathroom."

"Wait, wouldn't Mimi have seen that?" Jeri asked, confused.

"Actually," Mimi said, rubbing her head sheepishly, "I kind of passed out for a little bit, and rejoined you guys when I came to."

"Well, why would Zoe stuff his body in the bathroom?" Yoshi asked.

"To create confusion," Kouji replied, shrugging.

"It worked," JP muttered to himself.

"Wait, wait, wait," Takuya said, holding up his hands. "Why in the hell would Zoe commit all these murders anyway? It wouldn't really have benefited her, so why?"

Kouji's expression grew darker as he said, "Maybe she was working under orders from the person who killed her later. It could have been Takuya, her old client, or Jeri, a jealous wife—"

"Not jealous!" Jeri interjected.

"Or even JP, because women seem to go for him in this story," Kouji finished, glancing at JP.

"Hey, when you got it, you got it!" JP stated proudly.

Kouji rolled his eyes, then continued. "No, it wasn't any of them, which is surprising because Jeri was one of them. The person ordering Zoe was…Yoshi!"

"That's a lie!" Yoshi cried adamantly.

"Admit it!" Kouji retorted. "You used Zoe the way you always used her, and then you got rid of her when she finished what you told her to do."

Everyone stared at Yoshi suspiciously while Yoshi glared back defiantly. "So you're saying I killed Zoe. Then who killed Marcus, Yolei, and Kouichi?" she asked Kouji.

"You did," Kouji answered.

"How would I have known how to get into the lounge through the secret passageway?" Yoshi asked.

"Zoe told you," Kouji replied, glaring coldly at Yoshi.

"Wait, Zoe was actually involved with Kouichi's murder?" JP suddenly stated incredulously. "That is really messed up!"

"All is fair in love and war," Jeri said solemnly.

"Then you strangled Zoe and killed Marcus," Kouji continued. "And when the door rang and you answered it for Yolei, you recognized her from her photograph and killed her."

"You don't have any proof," Yoshi growled angrily.

"Alright then," Kouji said, turning to everyone else. "The gun is missing. Everybody turn out your pockets and girls open your purses. Whoever has the gun is the murderer."

Suddenly, Yoshi grabbed the gun from inside her purse and pointed it threateningly at the group. "Very impressive, Kouji," Yoshi said with a smirk. "I congratulate you."

"Me too!" Takuya added brightly.

"Shut up!" Yoshi snapped, backing everyone but Kouji against the wall. "Anyone that tries to run gets a bullet in the head!"

"Wait, I have a question," Henry said, staring curiously at Yoshi. "Why would you do all this? Lots of people knew what kind of business you were running and didn't care. You were in no real danger from the start!"

Yoshi chuckled, pointing the gun directly at Henry. "No one knows my real business: secrets. Zoe found them out for me. Takuya's working on a fusion bomb, Takato was a nuclear physicist, Mimi is a politician's wife, JP has UN contacts: your secrets are all so juicy."

"So you've been stealing the government secrets we possess," Henry muttered thoughtfully. "You're a communist!"

"No, Henry," Yoshi said with a smile. "Communism is just a red herring."

Yoshi backed up slowly as she continued. "I'm a good old-fashioned capitalist. I'm gonna sell your secrets to the highest bidder."

"No way are we giving you any more secrets!" Takuya exclaimed boldly.

"You will or I'll expose your dirty little secrets to the press, along with implicating you in six murders," Yoshi replied cockily.

Takuya hung his head, beaten by Yoshi's threat.

"Except you," Yoshi suddenly added, turning and pointing the gun at Kouji. "You're a butler and have no secrets worth mentioning, so I'm afraid your time has come."

"Not so fast," Kouji said, smirking. "There aren't any more bullets left in that gun."

"What?" Yoshi said, confused. "Yes there are!"

"There are six shots in a revolver," Kouji stated. "One shot was fired in the study, two were fired at the chandelier, two were fired at the lock on the lounge, and one was used to kill Yolei. That's one plus two plus two plus one."

"Wait, only one got the chandelier," Yoshi said. "That's one plus two plus ONE plus one."

"Even if you were correct, that would be one plus ONE plus two plus one," Kouji retorted.

"Fine, one plus two plus…shut up!" Yoshi yelled, pointing the gun to Kouji's head and putting her finger on the trigger. "There is still one shot left in this gun and guess who's gonna get it!"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, causing Yoshi to glance up for a moment. Kouji used that moment to grab Yoshi's arms, forcing her to drop the gun. "Open the door!" Kouji ordered Henry.

Henry quickly ran to the door and opened it, letting in a flurry of cops. On closer inspection, the others realized that the cops were Tai, Joe, TK, Kari, and Davis (that's right, he's in the story). They also all held guns.

Mimi glanced at TK and said, "You're not really a convert, are you?"

"Nope!" he said with a smile. "I was just messing with you."

"Yay, I'm in the story!" Davis said excitedly.

"Uh…don't shoot?" Takuya said, confused.

"Where's the chief?" Kouji asked Kari, who pointed at the door as Ken entered the mansion.

"Ken?!" everyone exclaimed.

"Why are you here and how are you a chief?" Jeri asked.

"I'm a detective, according to the last episode of Digimon Adventure 02," Ken replied. "Sure, I'm not as well known as that L guy, but c'mon, he has cool hair!"

"That he does," Mimi said, swooning.

"Mimi," Joe muttered dejectedly to the side.

"Anyway," Ken continued, "good job Kouji. You caught the culprit."

"Oh, the phone call from Ken was for you after all!" Takuya said, excited that he'd figured it out.

"No duh, Taki," JP muttered, shaking his head.

"Alright, take her away," Ken ordered TK and Davis, who quickly grabbed Yoshi.

Before they dragged her off, though, Yoshi looked at Kouji and said, "You're not gonna hold a grudge because I tried to shoot you, are you?"

"Frankly, Yoshi, I don't give a damn," Kouji replied, smirking at his reference. "Besides," he added, picking the revolver up from the floor, "there were no more bullets in this gun."

To emphasize his point, he pointed the gun at the ceiling and squeezed the trigger. A bullet then hit the rope holding up the chandelier, weakening it to the point of falling.

Kouji stared wide-eyed at the chandelier, then at the gun. Yoshi just chuckled as Kouji muttered, "One plus two plus…"

"Wait," Takuya said, taking a step forward. "How the hell did the chandelier get back up there?"

Suddenly the chandelier's rope broke and it fell in the exact spot Takuya had been standing a moment before. Takuya paused, turning and glancing at the chandelier's wreckage. Then he cried exasperatedly, "How?!"

—

_Henry: _Well, I guess you were right, Madjack. You gave us the end.

_Takuya:_ So it was Zoe and Yoshi all along.

_madjack89:_ That's how it COULD have happened.

_Henry and Takuya:_ …Wait, what?


	9. IX: A red herring part two

**Digital Clue**

**IX: A red herring (part two)**

_Takuya:_ Madjack?

_madjack89:_ Yes, Taki?

_Takuya:_ Is this going to be a multiple ending story like Clue was?

_madjack89:_ Why yes it is, Taki!

_Takuya:_ Ah, damn it. Guys, the story's not over yet!

_Everyone else:_ Aw…

_JP:_ So close.

_madjack89:_ Alright, let's get to the second ending for Digital Clue!

_Kouji:_ Do I have to explain again?

_madjack89:_ Yes you do.

_Kouji:_ Damn it…

—

Kouji quickly turned the lights back on and walked back into the hallway. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare anybody," Kouji apologized.

"You're a bit late for that!" Takuya yelled hysterically. "Wow, déjà vu."

"Alright, so after the lights went out, Zoe, Marcus, and Yolei were killed," Yoshi said, ticking them off on her fingers. "But who did it?"

"Seriously, is no one else getting déjà vu right now?" Takuya asked.

"And who killed Matt and Sora?" Henry added.

"I give up," Takuya muttered to himself.

"I'll tell you who," Kouji said, walking over to Jeri. "The murderer strangled Zoe." Kouji pretended to grab Jeri by the neck and strangle her, then pushed her to the floor. "Then Marcus was hit with the lead pipe." Kouji pretended to hit Henry with a pipe and pushed him to the ground as well.

"Then the murderer grabbed the gun and shot Yolei," Kouji finished. "The murderer headed back to the cellar after all this."

"The cellar?" JP asked. "Mimi and I were down there?! Are you accusing me?!"

"No," Kouji said, turning to Mimi. "I'm accusing Mimi."

"What?!" Mimi exclaimed, shocked. "How could you accuse me?"

"Simple," Kouji said. "It all started with Sora. She used to be your cook."

"That's not—" Mimi began.

"Don't deny it, you gave that away at dinner," Kouji said, cutting her off. "You were pretty much the only one that liked what was made, and monkeys brains, though popular in Cantonese cuisine, aren't often to be found in Washington D.C.! Talk your way out of that!"

"Oh my god, is that what you gave us to eat?" Henry muttered, looking like he was about to puke.

"Well, in all honesty, it's better than anything Kouji could have made, right Takuya?" JP asked, chuckling at the both of them.

"Shut up, JP!" Kouji and Takuya yelled angrily at JP.

"Wait, why would Mimi have murdered the others then?" Jeri asked Kouji.

"As a precaution," Kouji answered. "She had to be sure no one could rat on her, so she just killed everyone."

"So this has nothing to do with Takuya's work on the new fusion bomb or Takato being a nuclear physicist or anything?" Yoshi asked.

"I still don't get how Takato was a nuclear physicist," JP muttered to himself.

"No," Kouji replied, answering Yoshi's question. "Communism is just a red herring."

"Okay, I know I've heard that somewhere before!" Takuya exclaimed, his déjà vu returning.

"You have no proof," Mimi said, smiling triumphantly.

"Oh yes I do," Kouji replied. "The gun's missing. Everyone turn out your pockets and girls empty your purses. Whoever has the gun is the murderer."

Suddenly, Mimi grabbed the gun out of her purse, pointing it threateningly at the group. "Very good, Kouji," she said quietly, driving everyone against the wall. "You figured it out, but what will you do now?"

"Absolutely nothing," Kouji replied.

"What?!" the others exclaimed.

"But the police are coming!" Yoshi pointed out.

"Why would the police come?" Kouji asked, glaring at Mimi. "No one's called them."

"You mean, from the start, you'd never called them?" Mimi asked, shocked.

"That's right," Kouji said. "Now, I don't really approve of murder, especially when it involves my brother, but you did get rid of Matt and his accomplices, and for that I congratulate you."

"But…what do we do now?" Takuya asked nervously.

"We could just let Mimi get away with it and move on with our lives," Kouji replied evenly. "Mind you, I will hold a personal grudge against Mimi for the rest of my life for killing Kouichi, but she can live with it. So let's just stack the bodies in the cellar, leave one at a time, and forget this ever happened."

"Fine," Mimi agreed, backing up slowly while still pointing the gun. "I'll go first, if you don't mind."

"No no, go ahead," Kouji said, forcing a smile. Since Mimi still looked tense, Kouji began to sing. "For she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow, start singing or she'll kill you," he said through clenched teeth to the others while keeping to the beat of the song.

"Which nobody can deny," everyone sang, getting Kouji's message. Mimi continued to back up as they continued the song, smiling nervously. Finally, Mimi opened the door, stepped outside, and closed it behind her. As the door closed, the others immediately stopped singing, sighing with relief.

"You know, we're not half bad singers," JP mused.

"Probably because Tai and Joe aren't here," Takuya said, chuckling.

"I told you I didn't do it," Henry said.

"So what happens if the authorities do find out about this?" JP asked Kouji.

"The police will take care of Mimi," Kouji replied. "They're waiting outside."

"But you said you didn't call the pol…you lied," Takuya said, coming to a slow conclusion.

"Actually, I didn't call the police," Kouji said. "I didn't actually have to. You see, I work for Ken, who is a detective. That phone call earlier was for me."

"Seriously?" Yoshi asked, smirking at Kouji. "Both you and Ken are detectives? Ha, that's a laugh!"

"Hey, I caught Mimi," Kouji retorted defensively.

"Exactly, you caught Mimi," Yoshi replied, chuckling.

While Kouji fumed at Yoshi, Mimi was unlocking her car, ready to make her escape. She was about to get inside the car when TK popped up behind her and said, "Hey Mimi."

Mimi jumped and turned around, pointing the gun shakily at TK. "Get out of here, you little weirdo!"

"Sorry, can't do that," TK said with a smile, pulling out a gun. "You're under arrest."

Suddenly Tai, Joe, Kari, and Davis came out of nowhere and held Mimi at gunpoint, making a circle around her. "Ah, damn it!" she cried, dropping the revolver. "You're not a convert, are you, TK?"

"Nope!" TK said with a smile. "I was just messing with you."

"Wow, déjà vu," Davis muttered to himself.

Hearing the commotion outside, Kouji and the others rushed outside to see Mimi being taken away. Ken walked up to Kouji and said, "Good job, you caught Mimi. I always suspected she was up to something."

"Didn't we all?" Kouji replied.

"Hey, Takuya! I heard that singing comment!" Tai yelled from a few feet away, glaring at Takuya. Joe also glared, angered by Takuya's earlier comment.

Takuya smiled nervously, hiding behind JP. JP just rolled his eyes.

"Well, you see guys?" Kouji said, gesturing at the cop cars parked around the house. "Like the Mounties, we always get our man."

"Mimi was a man?!" Takuya exclaimed, confused.

"Stupid!" Yoshi yelled, smacking Takuya.

"Got that right," Kouji agreed, smacking Takuya again and causing him to fall to the ground. While the others stared at Takuya, Kouji said, "Anyone want some fruit or dessert?"

—

_JP:_ Well, I suppose that ending was satisfying, too.

_Mimi: glares at JP_

_Takuya:_ Alright, I guess that means Digital Clue is—

_madjack89:_ It could have happened like that, too.

_Takuya:_ …Son of a bitch.


	10. X: A red herring part three

**Digital Clue**

**X: A red herring (part three)**

_madjack89:_ Okay, here's Digital Clue's third ending!

_Kouji:_ Please, for the love of god, tell me it's over after this!

_madjack89:_ Tired of explaining everything?

_Kouji:_ No, I'm just sick of this story. Besides, I always end up explaining everything because no one else can figure anything out.

_Takuya and JP:_ Hey!

_madjack89:_ Alright, time for Digital Clue's end: part three!

—

Kouji quickly turned the lights back on and walked back into the hallway. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare anybody," Kouji apologized.

"You're a bit late for that!" Takuya yelled hysterically. "Wow, déjà vu…again."

"Alright, so after the lights went out, Zoe, Marcus, and Yolei were killed," Yoshi said, ticking them off on her fingers. "But who did it?"

"Is it possible to get double déjà vu?" Takuya asked no one in particular.

"And who killed Matt and Sora?" Henry added.

"My head hurts," Takuya mumbled.

"Yes, there were then three more murders," Kouji said, repeating Yoshi's point.

"So who did it?!" everyone exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Let's consider each murder one by one," Kouji said, walking over to JP. "You examined Matt in the study and said he was dead, but you knew he was alive. Even a psychiatrist can tell when a person is dead. You fired a shot at him in the dark and missed, so you lied and said he was dead in order to get the chance to kill him later, unobserved."

JP just glared at Kouji, neither denying nor admitting to his misdeed.

"Wait," Yoshi said. "Mimi was in the study then, right?"

"Wrong," Kouji said, turning to Mimi. "You killed Sora while we were in the billiard room with Zoe, giving JP the perfect opportunity to sneak back over to the study and kill Matt, while you came back through the secret passage in the kitchen to the study and ran back to the kitchen without realizing that Matt's body was missing."

"Are Mimi and JP really that smart?" Yoshi asked skeptically.

"I'm smart!" JP yelled defensively.

"Fine, is Mimi that smart?" Yoshi asked, correcting her statement.

"Hey!" Mimi said.

"Sora was Mimi's cook, which is why she killed her," Kouji said, continuing his explanation. "Later, when I went to throw out the key, the person that took it from my pocket was Takuya. Then he suggested we split up, got away from his partner, took the secret passage from the conservatory to the lounge, and killed Kouichi with the wrench."

"That's ridiculous!" Takuya exclaimed. "Why would I kill Kouichi, even if he was my driver?"

"To shut him up," Kouji replied, glaring at Takuya. "That's the reason everyone did what they did tonight."

"Well…fine, I did," Takuya muttered, defeated.

"After we split up again," Kouji continued, "I went upstairs with Jeri, yes you, Jeri! While I was checking the master bedroom, you snuck down here, switched off the electricity, and strangled Zoe. You were jealous that Takato had an affair with her, and that's why you killed him, too!"

Jeri took a deep breath. "Yes, I did kill Zoe. I hated her so much that…flames, just, flames…on the side of my face…heaving breaths…"

Everyone stared warily at Jeri as she continued her crazy rant. "Okay!" Kouji yelled, interrupting Jeri. "While you did that, Yoshi seized the opportunity and killed Marcus with the lead pipe. True or false?"

"True!" Yoshi replied with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"Well, then Henry must have shot Yolei!" JP exclaimed, staring at Henry.

"I didn't do it!" Henry said.

"Well, there's nobody else left!" Takuya retorted.

"But I didn't!" Henry repeated. "Wait, the gun is missing! Whoever has the gun shot Yolei!"

Suddenly, Kouji pulled out the revolver, smirking as he pointed it at the others. "I shot Yolei."

"You?!" everyone exclaimed incredulously.

"So it was you," Henry said thoughtfully, stepping forward. "I was going to expose you."

"I know," Kouji replied. "So I choose to expose myself."

"Please, there are ladies present!" Takuya said, glancing at the girls. (Sound familiar to any YouTubers out there?)

"You all just believed me when I said Matt was the blackmailer, but why?" Kouji continued. "None of you had met him until tonight."

Henry's eyes got wide as he cried, "You're the blackmailer!"

"That's right," Kouji replied, smiling cockily.

"Wait a second!" JP exclaimed. "If you're the blackmailer, then how was Matt involved in this?"

"You killed my butler," Kouji answered simply.

"Aw, crap," JP muttered.

"You know, I really should be thanking you guys, except maybe Takuya," Kouji said, walking slowly toward the door. "You got rid of all of my informers, so now there's no evidence against me. I'm not particularly happy about Kouichi's death, but take what you can get, I suppose."

"So this had nothing to do with Takuya's work on the new fusion bomb or Takato having been a nuclear physicist?" Jeri asked.

"No," Kouji replied. "Communism is just a red herring."

"Really, does no one recall ever hearing that phrase before?" Takuya asked.

As Kouji reached the doorway, Henry said, "None of you are gonna get away with this. The police will be here any minute."

"Why would the police come?" Kouji asked, smirking. "No one called them."

"You mean…oh my god, of course!" Mimi said, coming to a slow conclusion.

"I suggest we just leave," Kouji continued. "Let's just stack the bodies in the cellar, leave quietly one at a time, and forget this ever happened."

"And you'll just go on blackmailing us?" Henry asked, glaring at Kouji.

"Well, you've given me plenty of new material to work with tonight," Kouji retorted. "Why shouldn't I?"

"I'll tell you why!" Henry yelled, suddenly taking out a gun and shooting Kouji. Mimi and Yoshi screamed at the same time Kouji did.

"Ow," Kouji said, clutching his stomach and dropping his gun. He slowly sank to the ground, eyes wide with shock. "Good shot, Henry," he said through clenched teeth, curling up in a ball.

"Are you a cop?" Jeri asked, staring warily at Henry.

"No, I'm a plant," Henry replied, putting his gun away.

"I thought men like you were usually called a fruit," Yoshi commented, chuckling.

"Ha ha," Henry laughed sarcastically, taking out a badge. "I'm a detective working alongside Ken. The phone call from Ken was for me."

Henry walked past Kouji to the door and said as he opened it, "I told you I didn't do it!"

As the door opened, Tai, Joe, Kari, TK, and Davis stormed into the house, all holding guns. Ken walked in after them.

Mimi glanced at TK and said, "You're not really a convert, are you?"

"Nope!" he said with a smile. "I was just messing with you."

"Really, I think I've heard that before," Davis said, turning to Kari.

"Whatever, Davis," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Alright," Ken said, turning to Henry, "who did it?"

The others began pointing at each other, accusing each other of the murders. "They all did it!" Henry exclaimed, shutting them up. Turning to Ken, he added, "But if you want to know who shot Kouji, that was me, in the hall, with the revolver."

"For the love of god, I'm still alive, you assholes!" Kouji cried.

"Well, that's that," Henry said, ignoring Kouji. "Now I'm gonna go home and sleep with my wife."

JP gasped. "Oh my god, he's not really gay!"

"Shut up, JP!" everyone exclaimed at once.

"Please, someone call a freaking ambulance!" Kouji cried exasperatedly.

—

_Kouji:_ …Thanks, Madjack.

_Takuya:_ Alright, there is no way this is not the last ending!

_madjack89:_ It also could have happened like that!

_Everyone:_ ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!


	11. XI: A red herring part four

**Digital Clue**

**XI: A red herring (part four)**

_madjack89:_ Okay, now that I've made you sweat a bit, time to get on to the REAL final chapter of Digital Clue.

_Takuya:_ Really? You mean it?

_madjack89:_ Yes Takuya, this really is the end. Those other alternate endings were taken from the actual movie Clue, but now it's time for me to show off my authoring skills and write my own ending!

_Kouji:_ …So it's seriously over after this?

_madjack89:_ You guys are so untrustworthy! Just let me answer a couple of reviews and then I'll get to the final chapter!

-

_hazeleyedharmony:_ Well, you see, I'm going on vacation all next week and won't be able to update, and I REALLY wanted this story over and done with before I left to I can concentrate more on Holiday and F2R. And I'm showing off! (lol) Yeah, I could go on for a while with these alternate endings, but I think they've suffered enough! Thanks for reviewing this story!

_blackandblood:_ I bet it was the puppet! (lol) Yeah, not really. Read on to see what really befell these guys! And thanks for all the reviews for the story! I appreciated it!

-

_madjack89:_ It's time for the moment you've all been waiting for…the end of Digital Clue! Let's get to it!

—

Kouji quickly turned the lights back on and walked back into the hallway. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare anybody," Kouji apologized.

"You're a bit late for that!" Takuya yelled hysterically. "Oh my god, stop torturing me with déjà vu!"

"Alright, so after the lights went out, Zoe, Marcus, and Yolei were killed," Yoshi said, ticking them off on her fingers. "But who did it?"

"I think I'm going insane," Takuya muttered to himself.

"And who killed Matt and Sora?" Henry added.

"Here's my number," JP said, handing his card to a distraught looking Takuya.

"Alright, think about this," Kouji said, getting to his point. "Who invited us all here?"

"You did," Jeri replied.

"Who REALLY invited us all here?" Kouji reiterated.

"Well, Madjack did," JP answered. "But she doesn't like getting involved with our crap. She just puts us in situations and watches us squirm."

"But what if she didn't want to just play it safe in this story?" Kouji said. "What if she wanted to get involved this time? What if she wanted to be a direct cause of our squirming instead of an indirect cause?"

"Are you saying that Madjack committed all these murders?" Yoshi asked skeptically.

"It would have been easy for her to do," Kouji replied. "We all knew she was here, but we never thought she was actually HERE here. We just thought she was the author voice pervading in the background. I think she was more than that. She killed everyone, just to freak us out. She even gave us a plot to boot."

"Aw, man." I frowned, coming out from my hiding place inside the study. "Kouji, you're way too perceptive."

"Thanks," Kouji said, smirking at me.

"Wait, so this has nothing to do with Takuya's work on the new fusion bomb or Takato being a nuclear physicist?" Yoshi asked.

"Nope," I replied, shaking my head. "Communism is just a red herring."

"God, I have a headache," Takuya mumbled, clutching his head.

"Sorry Taki!" I apologized sheepishly.

"How about an apology for the rest of us for the hell you just put us through!" JP cried angrily.

"Aw, it was kind of fun, wasn't it?" I asked, smiling.

"No," the others said flatly, glaring at me.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," I mumbled. "I just thought it would be fun to parody one of my favorite movies with the help of you guys, and Clue involves murder! It's a murder mystery!"

"Speaking of which, did you seriously kill everyone?" Henry asked, glancing around at the different rooms.

"Well, I didn't do it personally. I'm too squeamish for that," I explained, motioning toward the study to get someone to come out. "I got him to do it for me."

Out of the study walked Izzy, who was staring uncomfortably at the ground.

"Izzy?!" everyone exclaimed.

"Okay, even I didn't see that one coming!" Kouji added.

"Hey guys," Izzy said, waving his hand nervously.

"Oh, calm down Izzy, they're not gonna do anything to you," I said reassuringly.

"Speak for yourself," Kouji muttered, glaring at Izzy angrily.

"I'm sorry!" Izzy said apologetically, bowing his head. "I owed Madjack a favor, and she said this was the only way I could repay her! If it makes any difference, I feel horrible about it!"

"Why'd you owe Madjack a favor?" Mimi asked curiously.

"I'm not at liberty to say," Izzy replied, glancing at me.

"Just don't worry about it," I said reassuringly. "Anyway, I did get Izzy to kill the others, but you guys are forgetting one very important thing: I'm the author! I can just bring them all back to life like this!" With that I snapped my fingers.

After about a minute of waiting, Kouji asked, "Um, did it work?"

"Give them a minute, they're probably disoriented," I replied, glancing in the study. Sure enough, Sora, Matt, and Yolei were slowly getting to their feet, looking dazed but okay.

"Izzy, you bastard!" Suddenly, Zoe burst from the billiard room and jumped on Izzy, knocking him to the ground. "How dare you freaking strangle me! I'll kick your freaking ass!"

"Zoe, Madjack told him to do it," Kouji said calmly. "And she did bring you back, so I guess we can let it go."

"Fine," Zoe grumbled, getting off Izzy and walking over to the lounge to check on Kouichi.

"You know, I expected Marcus to freak out like that," Yoshi said thoughtfully.

"I've got too much of a headache to freak out," Marcus replied, coming out of the library. "God, this is worse than the time I got strung up by my ankles, hung on the limb of a tree, and left there for an entire day."

"Oh, Marcus," Yoshi and I muttered, sighing.

"So, why was TK here?" Henry suddenly asked, confused. "He didn't do anything except make us worry about his mental health."

"Oh, don't worry, he's just pretending," I replied, walking down the hall toward the door.

When I passed the study, Matt exited and said, "Madjack, I have a few things to say to you!"

"Shut up, Matt," I said, opening the door for the others to join us. "Guys, no need to rush in, the plot's been ruined."

"Aw," Davis muttered, entering the house with the others I had waiting outside. "I wanted to be important to the story!"

"I think you're important, Davis!" I said, giving Davis a hug.

"What the hell?!" Tai exclaimed. "I thought I was your favorite character, too! Where's my hug?"

"Davis needs self-esteem boosting," I replied huffily.

"Yeah, right," TK and Kari muttered, rolling their eyes.

"You know what? Let's just leave," JP said, headed for the door. The others nodded in agreement, headed for their respective transportation vehicles.

"Thanks for being good sports! Especially the people that got killed!" I yelled as they left.

"Next time I want a part that requires more than one line and has less of me getting shot!" Yolei yelled back.

"I second that!" Sora added, glaring angrily at me.

"Babies!" I exclaimed, sticking my tongue out at them as they all left. Then I turned and noticed Kouji hadn't left yet. "You want to make sure Kouichi's okay?"

Kouji nodded, glancing at the lounge door. "But, since Zoe's in there with him, I'd better not."

Suddenly the lounge door opened and both Zoe and Kouichi exited the room, Kouichi looking a little flustered and dazed. "Don't worry, he's fine," Zoe said reassuringly to Kouji.

"I'll bet you made sure of that," Kouji muttered sarcastically.

Zoe glared at Kouji while Kouichi turned to me and asked, "Madjack, why the hell am I covered in wine?"

"Take it up with Yoshi," I answered, shrugging.

—

_madjack89:_ And that was the true end of Digital Clue. I hope you liked it and I hope you enjoyed the story!

_Takuya:_ God knows we didn't.

_madjack89:_ Oh, you know you had fun!

_Kouji:_ Well, I had fun picking on everyone in the last few chapters.

_madjack89:_ That's the spirit! Any final thoughts, guys?

_Yoshi:_ Never go to a party when you don't know the host.

_Jeri:_ You could get killed.

_madjack89:_ Excellent thought!

_Henry:_ I learned never to trust Madjack.

_Kouji:_ Trust me, you've barely scratched the surface of Madjack's evil.

_madjack89:_ Hee hee!

_Henry: _…

_madjack89:_ Alright, thank you all very much for sticking with Digital Clue and reading it to its final conclusion! I'm very grateful that you chose to read this story out of the million others out there! Thank you again and see ya!


End file.
